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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1996-02-04)4 February 1996 (age 29) Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 117 kg (18 st 6 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 26 September 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | Heavyweight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | David Pangai (brother) Mosese Pangai (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Win by KO | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tevita Pangai Junior (born 4 February 1996) is aTonga internationalrugby league footballer who last played as aprop for theCatalans Dragons in theSuper League.
He has previously played for theBrisbane Broncos,Penrith Panthers,Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, andthe Dolphins in theNRL, and forNew South Wales at representative level. He is a formerprofessional boxer.
Pangai was born inAshfield, New South Wales, is of,Tongan descent, and moved toNewcastle,New South Wales at a young age.
He played his junior rugby league for theSouth Newcastle Lions in theNewcastle Rugby League, before being signed by theNewcastle Knights.
Pangai is the younger brother of formerNorth Queensland Cowboys playerMosese Pangai.[3]
After playing in the lower grades at theNewcastle Knights, Pangai Junior joined theCanberra Raiders in 2013 and played for theirNYC team from 2013 to 2015.[4] On 7 November 2013, he re-signed with Canberra on a three-year contract.[5]
On 18 October 2014, he played for theJunior Kangaroos against theJunior Kiwis, playing at second-row in the Kangaroos' 14–15 loss atMt Smart Stadium.[6][7][8] He was again selected for the Junior Kangaroos in May 2015, playing off theinterchange bench in the Kangaroos' 22-20 win atRobina Stadium.[9][10] On 12 September 2015, he was named inTonga's 58-man train-on squad for the World Cup qualifier against theCook Islands.[11] Two days later, he was named at second-row in the 2015 NYC Team of the Year.[12]
In January, Pangai Junior signed a two-year contract with theBrisbane Broncos starting in 2017, however, in February, he was granted a release from the final year of his Canberra contract to join Brisbane effective immediately on a revised contract for just the2016 NRL season.[13] On 7 May, he played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis for a third year in a row, starting at prop and captaining the side in the Kangaroos' 34-20 win atParramatta Stadium.[14][15] In Round 12 of the2016 NRL season, he made hisNRL debut for the Brisbane against theWests Tigers, playing off the interchange bench in Brisbane's 19-18 loss atSuncorp Stadium.[16][17][18] In his next match in Round 13 against theNew Zealand Warriors, he scored his first NRL career try in Brisbane's 36-18 loss atMt Smart Stadium.[19] He finished his debut year in the NRL having played in 14 matches and scoring 2 tries for the Broncos in the2016 NRL season.[20] On 22 September, he re-signed with Brisbane on a two-year contract until the end of 2018.[21]
After the Broncos' local derby clash against theGold Coast in Round 7 which they won with a 24-22 win atSuncorp Stadium, Pangai Junior suffered a finger injury during the match and was sidelined for a number of weeks.[22] Pangai Junior would return from injury in Round 13 against theSydney Roosters in the 18-16 loss atSydney Football Stadium.[23] Pangai Junior finished the2017 NRL season with him playing in 18 matches for the Broncos. On 5 October 2017, Pangai Junior was selected in the 24-man squad forTonga for the2017 Rugby League World Cup.[24] On 11 November 2017, Pangai Junior made his international debut for Tonga againstNew Zealand, coming off the interchange bench in the inspirational 28-22 shock win atWaikato Stadium.[25][26] Pangai Junior would play in the next match for Tonga againstLebanon in their 24-22 win atAMI Stadium inChristchurch.[27] In Tonga’s Semi Final match againstEngland, Pangai Junior scored his first international try, the start of an unlikely Tonga comeback from 20-0 down with 9 minutes to fulltime.[28] As Tonga would dare to dream and score another two more 2 tries to make the score 20-18 with 2 minutes to fulltime, England wingerJermaine McGillvary lost the ball in his own half of the field, Tonga had one more final chance to pinch a stunning victory but unfortunately would end up in tears afterAndrew Fifita would go over the tryline on the fulltime siren but the try wasn’t checked by the video referee when the ball was raked out of his hand by England second-rowerElliot Whitehead but was seen by refereeMatt Cecchin as a knock on, the match ending in a thrilling fashion 20-18 atMt Smart Stadium.[29] Pangai Junior finished the exciting tournament with him playing in 3 matches and scoring 1 try.
After showing a good performance in Round 1 against theSt. George Illawarra Dragons as Brisbane lost 34–12 atKogarah Oval.[30] In Round 2 in the Queensland derby match against theNorth Queensland Cowboys, Pangai Junior had a monster performance, scoring a try out of sheer strength, nearly scoring a second identical try but was disallowed and making a very crucial try saving tackle on North Queensland forwardScott Bolton as he ran to score under the posts from a inside ball fromJohnathan Thurston but was slammed into the goalpost by him in the 78th minute and the Broncos came on top as 24–20 winners atSuncorp Stadium.[31] As Pangai Junior showed himself as the standout forward for Brisbane, he was under consideration for theNew South WalesState of Origin squad, but he opted to stay loyal to Tonga to represent his family but later did not take part in the Pacific international againstSamoa due to injury.[32][33] After missing a couple of matches due to injury in Round 19 against thePenrith Panthers, Pangai Junior had a sensational first half, scoring two tries as Brisbane went on to win convincingly 50-18 atSuncorp Stadium.[34] Pangai Junior would finish his best season to date, playing in 22 matches and scoring five tries for Brisbane. On 20 October, he played in the historical first-ever Test match between Tonga and theAustralian Kangaroos, scoring a try in the 34-16 loss atMt Smart Stadium, playing in front of a sold-out crowd atMount Smart Stadium, Auckland.[35][36] In late November, Pangai Junior announced that he wanted to represent New South Wales for the 2019 series, after being named in Brad Fittler’s 32-man training squad.[37] On 6 December 2018, Pangai Junior re-signed with the Broncos on a 1-year contract for the 2019 season, despite being offered lucrative contracts from other clubs.[38]
Pangai Junior made 18 appearances for Brisbane as the club finished in eighth place and qualified for the finals. He missed out on playing in Brisbane's 58-0 elimination final loss against Parramatta at theWestern Sydney Stadium.[39]
On 12 August, Pangai Junior was stood down indefinitely by the NRL and fined $30,000 for "multiple breaches" of the league'sCOVID-19 regulations.[40]
Statement issued by The Broncos Leagues Club 31 August 2020 in part states:[41] The Board has made a decision to terminate Mr Pangai Junior's employment immediately but any implementation of that decision has been suspended for a period of 12 months subject to Mr Pangai Junior complying with his employment agreement and complying with the following terms:
Pangai Junior was limited to only nine games in the2020 NRL season as Brisbane finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon for the first time in their history.[42]
Following Brisbane's 46-0 loss againstSouth Sydney in round 15 of the competition, he was informed by Brisbane management that his services would not be required for the following season and he had permission to negotiate with other clubs.[43]
On 21 July, Pangai Junior signed a three-month deal withPenrith after being released immediately by the Brisbane club for the rest of the2021 NRL season. On the same day, Pangai Junior signed a three-year deal to join Canterbury-Bankstown ahead of the 2022 season. Pangai Junior made his club debut for Penrith againstSouth Sydney in round 23, coming off the interchange bench in a 25-12 victory.[44][45]
Pangai Junior scored his first try for Penrith in round 24 of the competition in a 30-16 victory over theWests Tigers.[46]Pangai Junior made a total of six appearances for Penrith in the2021 NRL season, he played in the clubs preliminary final victory overMelbourne however he was not picked for the2021 NRL Grand Final team which defeatedSouth Sydney.[47]
In round 2 of the2022 NRL season, Pangai Junior made his debut forCanterbury in their 16-10 loss againstBrisbane atStadium Australia.[48]Pangai Junior played 19 games for Canterbury throughout the year as the club finished 12th on the table and missed the finals.[49]
On 22 May, Pangai Junior was a surprise selection by New South Wales for game one of the2023 State of Origin series.
On 15 August, it was announced that Pangai Junior would retire from rugby league to pursue a professional boxing career.
Pangai Junior signed with theSouths Logan Magpies in the Queensland Cup.On 7 June 2024, it was announced that Pangai Junior signed with theDolphins in the NRL until the end of 2024.[50]
On 7 August 2024, it was reported that he had signed forCatalans Dragons in theSuper League on a one-year deal.[51]
On 18 July 2025 it was reported that he had signed forWarrington Wolves in theSuper League on a 1-year deal.[52] However, on 30 October 2025, it was announced he had informed the Wolves that he would not be joining for the 2026 season.[53]
On 14 November 2025 it was reported that he had signed for 6th Division Frenchrugby union sideSC Leucate[54]
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Brisbane Broncos | 14 | 2 | 8 |
| 2017 | 18 | |||
| 2018 | 22 | 5 | 20 | |
| 2019 | 18 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2020 | 9 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2021 | Brisbane Broncos | 15 | 3 | 12 |
 Penrith Panthers | 6 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2022 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 19 | 1 | 4 |
| 2023 | 17 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2024 |  Dolphins | 9 | 2 | 8 |
| 2025 |  Catalans Dragons | 23 | 4 | 16 |
| Totals | 170 | 24 | 106 |
source:[55]
| 5 fights | 4 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 3 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Loss | 4–1 | Kenny Niko | TKO | 1 (6),1:09 | 11 May 2024 | Greek Club,Brisbane, Australia | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Raphael Sa'u | TKO | 3 (6) | 23 March 2024 | Ipswich Basketball Stadium,Ipswich, Australia | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Frank Amato | MD | 6 | 7 October 2023 | Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre,Townsville, Australia | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Jerry Tupai | KO | 2 (4),3:00 | 5 November 2022 | Aware Super Theatre,Sydney, Australia | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Gerico Cecil | TKO | 2 (4),1:04 | 4 December 2021 | Fortitude Music Hall,Brisbane, Australia |
