Wayne Bennett reveals he wasn’t impressed by Tevita Pangai’s recent performance as veteran coach looks to bolster his forward pack

Wayne Bennett took a dig at Tevita Pangai Jr, as fans speculate if the NRL supercoach’s former Broncos protege might sign with the Dolphins this year.

Pangai Jr famously walked away from the Bulldogs and the NRL in 2023 to pursue a career in boxing, but he has since changed his mind and signed with Souths Logan in Queensland.

While heavily linked for a return to the Brisbane Broncos, others have speculated he may instead sign with the injury-plagued Dolphins.

Pangai Jr impressed Magpies coach Karmichael Hunt last weekend, but the same can’t be said about Bennett.

‘I saw the game as well, I wasn’t as impressed as his coach,’ Bennet told News Corp.

Pangai has been linked to a return to the Broncos, but some think he may end up with the Dolphins

‘I know Tevita very well, I know what he can do. He is a wonderful player and I’ve got a lot of time from him … he can play.’

Bennett didn’t rule out making a play for his former protege, though.

‘There is a big opportunity, we have good balance in our cap and we have money in our cap to spend on quality players so that’s what we are trying to achieve.

‘We are looking right now (on the open market).

‘In football you are always doing what you have to do today and looking ahead to what you have to do.

‘We won’t do that (sign a player) unless we have the right player that suits our club.’

Last month is was revealed that former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones tried to recruit Pangai for the World Cup last year.

Pangai Jr famously walked away from the Bulldogs and the NRL to pursue a career in boxing

Pangai is keen to continue boxing, but hasn’t turned his back on footy either

‘It’s true I spoke to Eddie Jones,’ Pangai Jr said.

‘Simon Poidevin (Wallabies legend) is a friend of mine, he helped me get a scholarship to Newington College when I was 12 years old and he helped set up a chat with Eddie.

‘We had been trying to set up the meeting for a while, but we finally spoke just a few days after I announced my retirement from the NRL.

‘Eddie was great. I really enjoyed talking to him.

‘He was pretty keen to sign me, he told me to watch some footage of games and I mentioned to him that I had played No.8 and liked watching Toutai Kefu and Willie Ofahengaue (former Wallabies).

‘I definitely thought about going to rugby. There’s the Lions tour and the World Cup coming up. I played rugby union as a kid, so I know the game, but I had told the Bulldogs I wanted to test myself in boxing and I wanted to stick to my word.’