Roosters coach's brutal response to potential Pangai move
Trent Robinson has brutally shut down the prospect of Tevita Pangai Jr joining the Sydney Roosters.
The Brisbane forward is on the nose at Red Hill, with Saturday's biosecurity breach at a barber shop with ties to the Mongols motorcycle club potentially the final straw.
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The 24-year-old is facing a hefty NRL fine while the Broncos are set to tear up his $650,000 per season contract with more than two years left on the deal.
It comes after Pangai Jr was forced to play down the intentions of a phone call to Roosters chairman Nick Politis last week after speculation he was shopping himself to rival clubs.
Pangai Jr was linked to a move to Sydney before re-signing with the Broncos, the hot and cold talent missing 12 weeks through suspension in the past year thanks to a string of on-field brain fades.
On Tuesday the Broncos denied they had finalised the investigation into Pangai Jr's barber shop visit.
It didn't stop Roosters coach Robinson putting a clean line through him when asked on Wednesday.
“He won’t be at the Roosters,” Robinson said.
“... I don't know what's going on up there but we've worked really hard, as I think you can see, for the type of player that we want and he's not going to fit that mould.”
Reports also emerged on Wednesday that police are investigating up to 10 Broncos players - including Pangai - over a pub lunch last month that could throw the NRL season and the embattled club into further chaos.
Queensland police and the NRL are looking into the incident, in which 10 players enjoyed a pub steak on August 1 at the Everton Park Hotel in potential breach of the league's strict coronavirus protocols.
Broncos legend wants Pangai out sooner
Ben Ikin, in line to replace Paul White as the next Broncos CEO, said the club had erred in not releasing Pangai Jr sooner to create the space necessary to keep David Fifita from signing with Gold Coast.
“I said 12 months ago on this show that Tevita Pangai would be a player I'd be looking to offload, based purely on his football and his ill-discipline, and that was before they lost David Fifita,” Ikin told Fox Sports' NRL 360.
“I think there'd be an appetite for players like Tevita Pangai in the market that you could have cleared the cap space to keep David Fifita, who I think we all agree is the player the Titans are going to build their future around.”
The Pangai slip-up is the latest Red Hill drama of a tumultuous season, with the club fighting to avoid the wooden spoon and coach Anthony Seibold clinging to his job in just the second year of his five-year deal.
Seibold is also away from the club after attending a personal matter in Sydney while club legend and assistant coach Allan Langer is on a two-week COVID hold after attending the Caxton Hotel for a private function.
