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Origin wildcard Tevita Pangai jnr is a complex character who recently admitted to the Bulldogs he was having trouble living up to the pressure of his huge salary.
Pangai signed a deal with the Bulldogs in 2021 believed to be worth $2.2 million for three years. It was weighing so heavily on him that he told the club he may be better off elsewhere earning less money. It was a selfless offer that flies in the face of his image.
The club told him not to be too hard on himself and that they backed him to find some form as he came back from a calf injury that took two months to come good.
What it shows is that Pangai has a broader perspective of himself and his place in the game than he gets credit for; that he is a realist and actually cares about his form and his club. It shows there is more to him than people, other than his inner circle, realise. He has worked hard on his confidence with the assistance of Sonny Bill Williams and adviser Khoder Nasser.
“Sonny is someone who I look at and want to follow by example,” Pangai said. “The way he lives his life is an inspiration and, under his watch, I’ve stayed out of trouble. He is helping make me a better man. I’ve also been listening to Khoder. He gives me a lot of advice, a lot of speeches, and he gets me thinking the right way.”
Pangai has also been getting personal coaching from Willie Mason, who is showing promise as a forwards coach. Mason could prove to be a significant reason that Pangai finally fulfils his enormous potential.
Nasser sees him as a fighter, but TPJ can’t let his sporting ambitions stray beyond State of Origin. It’s something that he didn’t think would come his way.
“I can’t begin to tell you about my admiration for Brad Fittler,” Pangai said. “It takes a special person to forgive me for the silly and immature things that I said in the past ... I can’t believe that he has. Not many people would put that to one side. And I want to repay his faith in me through my preparation and my performance.”
In 2018, after Pangai had decided to play for Tonga instead of NSW, he professed his love for the Maroons.
“As a kid I just went for Queensland,” Pangai said at the time. “There was a time there where I was living in Newcastle and my brother [Mosese Pangai] was at the Cowboys and I was trying to tell my parents, ‘let’s move to Queensland so I could try and play for Queensland’.”
During the week he admitted how silly those comments were.
Origin wildcard Tevita Pangai jnr is a complex character who recently admitted to the Bulldogs he was having trouble living up to the pressure of his huge salary.
Pangai signed a deal with the Bulldogs in 2021 believed to be worth $2.2 million for three years. It was weighing so heavily on him that he told the club he may be better off elsewhere earning less money. It was a selfless offer that flies in the face of his image.
The club told him not to be too hard on himself and that they backed him to find some form as he came back from a calf injury that took two months to come good.
What it shows is that Pangai has a broader perspective of himself and his place in the game than he gets credit for; that he is a realist and actually cares about his form and his club. It shows there is more to him than people, other than his inner circle, realise. He has worked hard on his confidence with the assistance of Sonny Bill Williams and adviser Khoder Nasser.
“Sonny is someone who I look at and want to follow by example,” Pangai said. “The way he lives his life is an inspiration and, under his watch, I’ve stayed out of trouble. He is helping make me a better man. I’ve also been listening to Khoder. He gives me a lot of advice, a lot of speeches, and he gets me thinking the right way.”
Pangai has also been getting personal coaching from Willie Mason, who is showing promise as a forwards coach. Mason could prove to be a significant reason that Pangai finally fulfils his enormous potential.
Nasser sees him as a fighter, but TPJ can’t let his sporting ambitions stray beyond State of Origin. It’s something that he didn’t think would come his way.
“I can’t begin to tell you about my admiration for Brad Fittler,” Pangai said. “It takes a special person to forgive me for the silly and immature things that I said in the past ... I can’t believe that he has. Not many people would put that to one side. And I want to repay his faith in me through my preparation and my performance.”
In 2018, after Pangai had decided to play for Tonga instead of NSW, he professed his love for the Maroons.
“As a kid I just went for Queensland,” Pangai said at the time. “There was a time there where I was living in Newcastle and my brother [Mosese Pangai] was at the Cowboys and I was trying to tell my parents, ‘let’s move to Queensland so I could try and play for Queensland’.”
During the week he admitted how silly those comments were.
