The forward is two games into a four-match ban
Referee Chris Kendall speaks with Tevita Pangai Jr of Hull KR at Leeds Rhinos
Willie Peters is delighted with the response he has seen from Tevita Pangai Jr as he bids to earn the trust of his Hull KR teammates.
Pangai Jr is two games into the six-match ban he was given by the RFL’s Match Review Panel for gouging during the club’s loss to Leeds Rhinos last month. As such, he won’t play for another four weeks with the forward expected to make a return to the fold against his former side Catalans Dragons in August.
However, the prop has responded positively to the setback and he’s working hard to ensure that he is ready from a physical standpoint to make an impact over the final few games of the campaign upon his return.
That hard work extends beyond Craven Park, too, with Pangai Jr being spotted in a local gym close to Hull pushing himself to exhaustion with some high intensity extra curricular training.
The forward arrived in East Yorkshire out of shape and unfit after spending time away from a professional environment following his departure from Catalans Dragons.
He has been working hard on that with housemate Tyrone May since his arrival but Peters is happy with his recent response to the setback.
“I am, we’ll see the results in six weeks’ time,” Peters said when asked if he was pleased to see Pangai Jr pushing hard to make an impact on his return. “Tevita wasn’t happy with himself and what he did.
“Now, as I said before, he needs to earn his teammates trust and he’s got a certain goal that he wants to get to. He lives with Tyrone and I always ask what’s Tevita doing when I speak to Tyrone and a lot of the time he’s at the gym.
“So he’s doing all he can and that’s all I ask of any player or staff member, give everything you can, do your best and most of the time that will be good enough.
“Tevita giving his best is a positive sign. Obviously he has a few more weeks to be sitting out and he obviously wants to get to some certain goals and personal goals and I’m sure he’ll do that.”