Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold says he won’t be satisfied until Tevita Pangai consistently produces his display in their 29-10 NRL win over North Queensland.
It is a hard act to follow.
But tough marking Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold says he won’t be satisfied until Tevita Pangai consistently produces the powerhouse display that inspired a rampant 29-10 NRL win over North Queensland.
Pangai set the tone by thumping fellow Tongan heavyweight Jason Taumalolo in an earth-shattering tackle before bullying the highly touted Cowboys pack at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
He was a one-man wrecking ball, running 115m, with five tackle busts and even helping himself to a 47th-minute try.
Pangai – who is eligible for NSW selection – clearly impressed Blues coach Brad Fittler, who quickly caught up with the runaway prop post-match after completing TV commentator duties.
But Seibold said he wouldn’t be happy until Pangai produced the same effort each week.
“The challenge for him is to be consistent and back that up week in, week out,” Seibold said.
“I just want to see him reach his potential.
“There are some outstanding forwards in the competition..but certainly Tevita has potential.
“I don’t want to overstate where Tevita is at. He’s just got to be consistent.”
Pangai clearly enjoyed his battle with Tongan teammate Taumalolo, who the Brisbane forward claimed would one day become an Immortal.
Former Dally M Medallist Taumalolo did not have a chance to repeat his staggering 301m effort in last week’s win over St George Illawarra after coming off second best with a knee medial strain following Pangai’s shuddering eighth minute hit.
And it seems Taumalolo only has himself to blame.
Pangai said his game had improved since chewing Taumalolo’s ear in the Tongan camp last year.
“He’s a hard man to handle. He’s going to be an Immortal one day,” Pangai said of Taumalolo.
“He ran 300 metres last week. He’s one of the greats of the game.
“And he has taught me a lot. I used to get too fancy. He was always in my ear to just run the ball hard first.
“Now I just want to earn my teammates’ respect. I haven’t been consistent with that – I have a few rounds to do that now.”
Asked about his quick chat with Fittler, Pangai didn’t exactly talk up his Blues chances.
“I just said hello (to Fittler) that’s it. I am just focused on the Broncos. My job is to play for them,” he said.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Exactly, he's more of a force multiplier then a game changer. If you can get on top he'll keep you there but if you fall behind he can start to become a liability. That said, you could say that about a lot of good players early in their careers.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Yep, I thought the same too. Was more impressed with Flegler although Pangai had a great effect on that match. The other thing though is I think he does well against teams that are on the backfoot or have slow or poor service out of dummy half as that allows him to get to the receiver. Against the Storm last week, the Storm were rolling and Smiths service is so accurate that Pangai had no effect as he was stepped or the ball was passed by the time he got there. Once he gets frustrated than it results in penalties for late hits and off the ball stuff.
Emcie
Roar Guru
I think Flegler actually came out on top by a fair margin with 170 odd meters. I like TPJ but he's not the second coming. His approach is great if you can get on top early, but if the team's under pressure it seems to just result in penalties and mistakes. I get the impression he needs a fair bit of management to get the best out of him both from a coaching perspective and injury wise. That said, he's good for morale.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Been waiting for a long, long time for Oates to start getting decent service from his centre. I honestly can't remember the last centre we had with a passing game down that edge...
Nat
Roar Guru
Yep. It was a good display by TPJ and a few for the highlight reels but he had this impact in last year's derby, got all the same plaudits and went hot/cold thereafter. At the game, I think I saw more of young Flegler carting the ball up but the big blondy does stand out. Jack Bird...!!! Oates has 18, 16, 18 tries respectively in the last 3 seasons, with a center that can pass he's going to push Vuni and the Kiwi boys for top try scorer in '19.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Birds been really good. Was a bit rusty first half against Melbourne but has been just about their best back behind Oates since. How good is it having a centre who can draw and pass for Oates?
Emcie
Roar Guru
I know Pangai's goping to get all the credit, but to me the win was more down to team effort then any individual heroics. NQ's forwards were undone more by the tempo then big hits and hitups and the Broncos gameplan didn't give thm any breathing space till the latter part of the second half where they took the foot off a bit. To put things in perspective Pangai actually made less tackles, meters and runs then any other Brisbane forward (barring Fensom who barely played). That's not to dismiss his impact, just to highlight the rest of the packs impact as well. Gotta say too, I thought Bird had a great game and young Flegler was really impressive on debut.
AE47
Roar Rookie
Wasn’t TPJ told by the Raiders you just ain’t good enough ! Like they said to Lockyer, what is wrong with these people ?