Innaugural Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett has revealed that he would sign Tevita Pangai Junior tomorrow if he could.
The star, who signed a three-year deal with the Canterbury Bulldogs ahead of the 2022 season on around $750,000 per season after a stint at the Brisbane Broncos - who he first joined under Bennett - has turned into a forward leader for the battling Bulldogs.
Despite the side's struggles after a highly-touted recruitment run ahead over the off-season, Pangai Junior has held his end of the bargain, recording more than 100 metres per game and becoming a threat on the edge for the blue and white.
He will play against his former club on Friday evening for the first time, but as Bennett continues to struggle with recruiting players - the Dolphins have managed just eight top 30 signings - he told News Corp that Pangai Junior is the player he would sign if he could pick anyone.
“I have a lot of time for Tevita. He was no trouble for me. I knew how to handle Tevita,” Bennett told the publication.
“If he was on the open market tomorrow, I would sign him in a heartbeat for the Dolphins. He was one of the guys I really enjoyed coaching at the Broncos.
“He actually came to the Broncos because of me. He was at Canberra at the time and he called me up and said he wanted to be coached by me. He played some excellent games for me at the Broncos.
“I remember one game where he took the Roosters apart by himself and won the game for the Broncos. He dominated Jason Taumalolo one night when the Broncos beat the Cowboys.
“I saw him as a kid playing at Newcastle and I thought ‘I would love to coach that kid one day’. He just has skills that can’t be coached. He has God-given talent.
“It always comes back to being coached at the right club. The system can make you into a better player, but you also need to have the desire.”
Pangai Junior's exit from Brisbane was messy, with an eventual release given so he could chase - and ultimately win - a premiership at the Panthers on a short-term deal before committing to the rebuilding Bulldogs long-term.
