Hull KR boss Willie Peters has provided the lowdown on the club’s newest signing – Tevita Pangai Jr.
The former Tongan international has joined the club on a deal until the rest of the season, and he adds size and strength to an already dominant Hull KR pack.
The 30-year-old was originally going to play for Warrington Wolves in 2026, signing a deal with Sam Burgess’ side after his exit from Catalans Dragons.
However, the prop opted not to see out that contract, and more recently he has been playing amateur rugby union in France.
The Robins paid a fee to Warrington as part of the deal, and now boss Peters has revealed why the club opted to bring in another middle.
“He can play two positions. He can play in the back row as well. We see Tevita as a player that, if he can reach his potential, he’s a player that’s played at the highest level in the NRL,” Peters said to the press yesterday [Tuesday].
“He’s played Origin, and he can play a couple of the positions. If he can reach his potential and buy into what we’re doing, he can be valuable back in the year for us.”
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Hull KR boss explains Tevita Pangai Jr signing
The KR boss made it clear that Pangai Jr won’t be available for selection for a few weeks yet, with the forward needing to get up to speed after time away from rugby league.
“He needs to get fit, there’s no doubt about that,” Peters said. “He needs to make sure that he is in peak condition to be able to do what he needs to do on the field.
“Wth someone like Tevita, it’s repeat efforts. It’s being able to carry as hard as he can and needs to be able to come out of the line and have aggression and intent with his defence, which he does, and have repeat efforts of that.
“When you’re fit, you can do that. He hasn’t played for a long time. He hasn’t been part of a professional set-up for a long time, but he wants to join our club.
“He sees our club as a place where he can play his best rugby league and, as I said, reach his potential. So, we’re looking forward.
“He knows he needs to earn his teammates’ trust, and the only way to do that is by working hard and training hard.”
Hull KR man on the outer after Tevita Pangai Jr signing
With Pangai Jr coming in, it suggests that someone already at the club could be departing, with Peters suggesting as such in his presser.
The boss refused to say who that player might be, but he did reveal that an exit could be on the horizon.
“That’s possibly the case [a player exit],” he said. “We’ll share the information when we can.
“There were some decisions that were made by a player previously. I don’t want to share that now. We’ll wait till in due course. But yeah, it would be likely that we may look at someone or someone may leave.”
