Willie Mason warned Tevita Pangai Jr he risked wasting his talent if he joined the Wests Tigers or St George Illawarra and insists the Bulldogs are the perfect fit for the powerhouse forward.
It was the phone call from a Bulldogs legend that could inspire
Tevita Pangai Jr to become “one of the most damaging forwards to ever play the game”.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal former Canterbury, NSW and Kangaroos forward Willie Mason reached out to Pangai – a long-time friend – to tell him he “hadn’t been coached the right way over the last three or four years”.
Mason also told Pangai Jr that he would never play rep footy or finals if he joined one of his other two suitors, St George Illawarra or Wests Tigers.
After offering a glowing endorsement of Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett and the club’s board, Mason told Pangai to join Canterbury, the three-year deal being finalised on Wednesday.
While wanting to play down his role in luring Pangai to Belmore, Mason said: “I want to see the best out of him because, potentially, he could be one of the most damaging forwards to ever play the game.
Willie Mason believes Tevita Pangai Jr can become one of the game’s best players under Trent Barrett next season. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images
“I made a phone call and said: ‘Look, T, you’re 25 years old and I just don’t think you’ve been coached the right way over the last three or four years’.
“I said: ‘You should be playing Origin and for Australia. I know you love playing for Tonga but you’ve already done that. Your next thing is that Blues jersey and then a green and gold jersey. You’re not even in the talks’.
“I told him: ‘Your two options were St George and Wests Tigers’. I told him if he went there he would never, ever see a rep jersey or play finals in his whole career.
“He’s a wrecking ball. You get him in the right frame of mind, you see what he can do. He’s just very inconsistent – he will destroy teams once every five or six games.
“If he puts together 12 games like that he will play for Australia. He has so much potential and I don’t want to see him waste it.
Willie Mason gave Pangai Jr a brutal assessment of the Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra. Picture: Alix Sweeney
“T is the most damaging left-side back-rower. He’s up there with David Fifita but I think he’s tougher than Fifita. I question Fifita’s toughness in those big games where Pangai loves that shit. You can put him in the middle, put him on the left edge, he’s a left-arm carry, left foot step, right palm.”
Bulldogs chairman John Khoury revealed the role Mason played in pushing Pangai Jr to Canterbury.
“I know Willie has a friendship with Tevita and he put in a good word in regards to where the club was and where we were headed,” Khoury said.
“Willie told Tevita that the Bulldogs were a club on the rise and it was a great club when it was pumping, what happens with our passionate members and fans and that he would be coming to a good place.
“Willie also vouched for Trent, vouched for me and vouched for the board. That certainly helped and I want to call that out and acknowledge it. I know Willie told Tevita he should join us.”
Mason has an enormous opinion of Barrett and reckons his former club are finals bound in 2022 through the recruitment of Pangai, Josh Addo-Carr, Matt Burton, Brent Naden, Matt Dufty and possibly Paul Vaughan.
He’s already represented Tonga, but Willie Mason believes there are more representative offers available for Tevita Pangai Jr. Picture: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images
“Tevita’s got all the attributes to be a gun – he just needs someone inside him and then there’s Burton,” Mason said. “The club is heading in the right direction so when I spoke to Tevita, I told him I just wanted the best out of him with his footy.
“He has been playing lock, right-side back row, in the middle, left-side back row. Next year, with Matt Burton, Pangai, Naden, ‘Fox’ and Dufty around the back, you’re talking a dynamic left edge.
“I know Baz is a great coach and Gus (Gould) is a great club builder. He knows the culture of the club. They have all the right people there and they want to see the club go forward and I told ‘T’ that.
“When you’re successful at that club, everything goes well. Baz is building something and I told Tevita to be part of it. We haven’t had a cult figure there since my man Sonny (Bill Williams). The fans just want a bunch of dogs.”
Mason looks set to have a mentoring role at Canterbury from next season.
“Mentoring, skills, just being around the club and around the players, driving the culture of the club. I know what that club is built on,” Mason said.
