SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 30: Tevita Pangai Junior of the Bulldogs looks on during the round eight NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters at Stadium Australia on April 30, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Star forward Tevita Pangai Junior has sensationally been dumped to NSW Cup for this weekend, following Canterbury's 42-6 defeat at the hands of rivals Parramatta.
Pangai Junior has been named at lock for the Bulldogs' reserve grade match against Newtown, his demotion sealing a subpar season for the former Brisbane utility forward.
It's a bold move from interim coach Mick Potter, with Pangai Junior reportedly on over $700,000 per season, however it's easy to see the Tongan international's disinterest over his last few games for the club.
Pangai has become renowned for attitude problems throughout his first-grade career, and finally looked set to turn a corner and become a leader at Canterbury, however his NSW Cup demotion says otherwise.
Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould confirmed the news on Twitter shortly after this weekend's line-ups were announced.
It caps off a mixed season for the club, while managing to rid themselves of the wooden spoon, many pundits had tipped the Bulldogs for a top eight berth in 2022 or close to it. Following Trent Barrett's mid-season sacking and some teething issues in their attack, the writing was on the wall early in the year.
Chris Patolo joins the bench in place of Pangai Junior, and with just two regular season games left to play, we may have seen the last of Tevita in first-grade this season.
The Bulldogs will face Cronulla at PointsBet Stadium on Saturday 5:30pm AEST, while Pangai Junior will face the Newtown Jets at Henson Oval 3:00pm the same day.