{"id":590340,"date":"2026-04-07T02:16:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590340\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T02:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:16:16","slug":"ex-nrl-enforcer-set-for-shock-return-to-the-super-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590340\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NRL enforcer set for shock return to the Super League"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tevita Pangai Junior<\/a> is looking to return to the Super League<\/a> after a short stint in rugby union, with Love Rugby League reporting there could be a deal struck with a few clubs interested in his services.<\/p>\n

After a controversial exit from Catalans Dragons<\/a>, Pangai Junior agreed to terms with Warrington Wolves<\/a> before the start of the 2026 season work closely with head coach and NRL<\/a> legend Sam Burgess<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m excited to work with Sam Burgess<\/a>,\u201d Pangai Jr told The Daily Telegraph last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a big reason why I’m going there.”<\/p>\n

Although the deal didn’t go through after Pangai Junior backflipped on the agreement, Warrington released an update on the situation with the NRL<\/a> journeyman.<\/p>\n

\u201cTevita Pangai Jr has recently informed the club of his decision not to join for the 2026 season.”<\/p>\n

“While we are disappointed, the club accepts his decision, as we remain committed to building a squad of players who are fully invested in the club and its ambitions.<\/p>\n

“We wish Tevita the very best in his future endeavours.\u201d<\/p>\n

After short stints in amateur union competitions in the South of France<\/a> with SC Leucate, and trials for Biarritz in a second division French competition, Pangai Junior has changed his mind and has decided he would like to return to the 13-man code.<\/p>\n

It is being reported that Pangai Junior’s return to the Super League<\/a> will be as a mid-season transfer, with Hull FC<\/a> and KR interested in his services before the 2026 competition; however, neither club finalised a deal.<\/p>\n

Liam Knight’s departure back to Australia<\/a> on compassionate grounds opens the door ajar for Pangai Junior to be welcomed to the club during the season.<\/p>\n

After retiring from the NRL<\/a> in 2023 to pursue a boxing career at age 27, he returned to the Dolphins<\/a> a year later before making his move overseas with the Dragons in France<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pangai Junior would be a powerful asset to many Super League<\/a> clubs, adding aggression and a wealth of experience, including 147 NRL<\/a> matches and a State of Origin<\/a> appearance for the NSW Blues<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tevita Pangai Junior is looking to return to the Super League after a short stint in rugby union,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-590340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}