'Absolute madness': Bulldogs gun's shock retirement

Tevita Pangai Junior has sent the NRL satellite into daze aft informing his Bulldogs teammates that helium volition discontinue from the game.

9News' Danny Weidler confirmed the NSW Blues Origin representative volition alternatively prosecute a vocation successful boxing.

"Tevita Pangai Junior volition play retired the play with Canterbury and past discontinue the crippled to instrumentality up boxing," helium said connected 9news.

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"This is rather a large astonishment successful a batch of ways due to the fact that Tevita had truly indicated to the nine that he'd similar to marque a spell of his vocation astatine Canterbury ... it mightiness person been astatine the extremity of past twelvemonth helium said that unless you could support his value down to a definite point, helium would discontinue rugby league and discontinue the Bulldogs.

"I don't cognize astir his value but he's evidently mislaid immoderate of that tendency ... helium present has a tendency to container and nary longer to play rugby league.

"He's had immoderate boxing history, he's shown immoderate utmost endowment successful that athletics but it's a monolithic gamble."

The determination from Pangai Junior has near his mentor - and Sonny Bill Williams' cause - Khoder Nasser, confused.

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"All I cognize is that he's leaving rugby league to bash boxing," Nasser told The Sydney Morning Herald.

"It's implicit madness."

The quality comes connected the aforesaid time his ex-teammate and bully friend Payne Haas re-signed with the Broncos. It was lone successful June that Haas backed Pangai Junior to instrumentality for the Blues 1 day.

"God consenting helium gets backmost here, I've got each the assurance successful the satellite successful Tevita, he's 1 of my champion mates, truthful if he's chosen again I cognize he'll bash the job," Haas told Wide World of Sports.

The prop started for the Bulldogs against Newcastle connected the play but has been shifted to the seat for Sunday's clash astatine Canberra.

Canterbury volition play Manly and the Titans successful its last 2 circular games.