Tevita Pangai Junior has left the door open for a return to the NRL and has reportedly had preliminary talks with the Broncos a couple of short-term deal.
The 27-year-old sensationally give up rugby league final yr, strolling out on a $750,000 contract with the Bulldogs to pursue a profession in boxing.
But rumours of a return started after he was noticed watching on at a Broncos coaching session not too long ago.
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While Pangai Junior informedNews Corp he’s solely centered on boxing “right now” the identical masthead experiences he has spoken to Broncos bosses a couple of attainable return to the membership after June on a four-month deal.
The Broncos haven’t tabled a suggestion, however Pangai Junior is open to juggling his boxing profession with the NRL — supplied the membership can match him underneath the wage cap.
The former star prop opened up on his determination to stroll away from rugby league, declaring he has “no regrets” and he’s “just happy to be back in Brisbane with my life settled again.”
He additionally broke his silence on the Broncos go to, revealing the explanation he was on the coaching session was as a result of the daughter of his boxing coach needed to satisfy Reece Walsh and Payne Haas.
“That’s why all these rumours started happening about me coming back to the Broncos, but it’s not the first time I have gone to watch Broncos training,” he stated.
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Pangai Junior, who has signed a two-year battle deal, may very a lot find yourself again within the NRL — and believes he nonetheless has one thing to supply — however is decided to throw every thing into his boxing profession for now.
“I’m committed to boxing but I haven’t ruled out playing NRL again,” he stated.
“Right now, I am focused on boxing, but I think I can still definitely mix it in the NRL. I’m only 28 and I’m just hitting my peak as a front-rower.
“Ability wise, I can still do something in the NRL, but I’m taking boxing seriously and respecting the sport.”
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He is assured although that he may juggle each sports activities if he needed to.
“I don’t hate rugby league. You definitely didn’t see the best of me in the NRL. I feel like I could have done better with my consistency, but I don’t know what the future holds,” he stated.
“I think I can succeed in two sports. Boxing and rugby league work together in many ways, I don’t think the training can hurt me in boxing and vice-versa with league.
“If I was to go down that path – mixing boxing and NRL — I don’t think it would be an issue for me.”
Pangai Junior spent his final two seasons within the recreation with the Bulldogs and had a contract price $750,000 for 2024. But he walked.
He shut down rumours suggesting basic supervisor Phil Gould paid him out $250,000 and hit again at those that might imagine he’s pushed by cash.
“The truth is there was no payout,” he stated.
“While most of my discussions were with the coach, I got on with ‘Gus’ (Gould).
“When he found out about my decision, we definitely spoke about it and he said if I ever needed anything, he would be there for me which I appreciated. I was happy that I could leave without any bad blood.
“I didn’t get a cent from the Dogs. Anyone who has dealt with me knows I am very fair at the negotiating table. I’m not driven by money. My parents always said don’t rip anyone off. I’ve had bigger offers in my time in the NRL and I happily took less to play in winning teams.
“I don’t care if people think I’m money hungry. I got to move back to Brisbane and box and the Dogs had $750,000 to play with.
“I think it was a fair deal in the end.”
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Pangai Junior dived deeper into his exit from the sport revealing his aching need to maneuver again to Brisbane and the promise he had made the Bulldogs earlier than the 2023 season.
“To be honest, I just hated Sydney. I didn’t enjoy the city,” he stated.
“There’s a reason my parents moved out of Sydney when I was 12. The place sucks. I will never move back.
“My big thing was being in Brisbane. People don’t understand how much I love being back home with my wife’s family and being able to work with my (boxing) trainer in Brisbane.
“There’s no issue with Cameron. He knows what we spoke about.
“I had some goals I wrote down and I told them if I didn’t meet them, I would quit the NRL and take up boxing.
“I said to ‘Ciro’ if we didn’t make the top eight, that I would leave the club and I’d go without a payout.
“We had a great relationship. Cameron didn’t want to hold me to those words, but I felt I dropped below my standard at the Dogs and I wasn’t happy with myself.”
It didn’t take lengthy for news of Pangai Junior’s NRL exit to finish up on the radar of Wallabies coach Eddie Jones and the pair met “just a few days” after the bombshell was dropped.
“It’s true I spoke to Eddie Jones,” Pangai Junior stated.
“He was pretty keen to sign me, he told me to watch some footage of games and I mentioned to him that I had played No.8 and liked watching Toutai Kefu and Willie Ofahengaue (former Wallabies).
“I definitely thought about going to rugby. There’s the Lions tour and the World Cup coming up. I played rugby union as a kid, so I know the game, but I had told the Bulldogs I wanted to test myself in boxing and I wanted to stick to my word.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
