Unwanted Broncos star Tevita Pangai jnr has been fined $30,000 and stood down indefinitely after breaching Brisbane’s Covid-19 bubble at the weekend.
The NRL announced the sanction on Wednesday, alleging Pangai jnr broke Project Apollo protocols on multiple occasions as part of its breach notice. Pangai jnr had been spotted at the opening of a barber shop, which is believed to have ties to the Mongols bikie gang.
“We believe this was a case of a player committing multiple contraventions of the protocols and showing a disregard for the league’s rules,” NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said.
“We will do everything we can to protect our season. Players or officials who show they are unable to comply with the biosecurity protocols will be removed from club bubbles until we are satisfied that they will comply with the protocols. We believe in this case, Tevita has not been able to do that.
“This decision protects the health of our playing squads and, most importantly, the general community.”
The stern words from the game’s top executive come as up to 10 Broncos players were made the subject of an NRL investigation after being spotted at a Brisbane pub at the start of the month.
The Herald learnt the NRL has been aware of the incident for about a week. The group of players, which included Pangai jnr, David Fifita, Ben Te’o, Corey Oates and Brodie Croft, were spotted eating a meal during the day on August 1 at the Everton Park Hotel.
The Broncos believed they were fine to meet at a pub as, at the time, as Queensland’s COVID-19 restrictions were not as harsh as they are now.
“The club has spoken at length to the players involved, who attended the hotel for lunch on Saturday, August 1 – after players and staff inside the club’s ‘COVID bubble’ had transitioned back into more relaxed Project Apollo Queensland restrictions,” a Broncos statement read.
“The team had played Cronulla at Suncorp Stadium the night before, which marked the end of a 14-day hard lockdown put in place after the team travelled to Sydney for the round 10 game against the West Tigers on July 17.
“The players were of the understanding that lunch at the hotel was permissible under the more relaxed restrictions which they were under at the time.
“The club has been working closely with the NRL and provided a range of information as requested, and is awaiting a determination.”
