There's a belief at the Canberra Raiders they would be a shadow of the same strong club they are if Tevita Pangai jnr was still with the Green Machine.
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It's a case of buyer beware with the wantaway Brisbane Bronco, highlighted not just by his time with the Queensland glamour club, but also his time in Canberra.
At the moment all the focus is on Pangai's Apollo protocol breaches, which appear to form part of an agitation to get away from the struggling Broncos.
Why else would he attend the opening of a barbershop - that coincidentally had ties to the Mongols bikie gang - just days after his former coach Wayne Bennett put every NRL player under the spotlight following his own inability to obey the rules.
He'd have to have been living under a rock to think nothing would come of it. Maybe he knew exactly what he was doing.
Pangai has since admitted to the NRL he's repeatedly broken the bubble rules and the barbershop wasn't a one-off, leading to a $30,000 fine and an indefinite suspension.
That saga came just days after reports Pangai had been shopping himself to the Sydney Roosters.
He also agitated his way out of Canberra to get to Brisbane in the first place - before then trying to return to the club he played under-20s for a few years later.
And the Raiders were happy to let him go at the start of 2016.
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Not because of a lack of talent, but because he didn't hold the same cultural beliefs Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was trying to build into his group.
There was a feeling if he'd remained in the squad then they wouldn't be a club capable of challenging for last year's premiership and wouldn't have shown tremendous fight this season despite a crippling injury toll.
Too much of a selfish attitude.
Yet the moment there were reports the Broncos wanted to sack him - and then the NRL suspended him for his biosecurity breaches - there were numerous NRL clubs circling him.
Round and round the NRL merry-go-round goes.
The New Zealand Warriors and the Canterbury Bulldogs have both been linked to the 24-year-old.
Both clubs in need of a quick fix.
Tellingly, Roosters coach Trent Robinson was quick to quash any chance of the second-rower finding his way onto their list.
Wouldn't fit their culture either he said.
So why would you risk it? Why would you want someone whose selfish acts have put the entire NRL at risk?
Beats the hell out of me.
NRL ROUND 14
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Jordan Rapana, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Hudson Young. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Joe Tapine, 16. Ryan Sutton, 17. Corey Harawira-Naera. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams, 19. Michael Oldfield, 20. Kai O'Donnell, 21. Matt Frawley.
Broncos squad: 1. Darius Boyd, 2. Richard Kennar, 3. Kotoni Staggs, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 5. Xavier Coates, 6. Brodie Croft, 7. Tom Dearden, 8. Thomas Flegler, 9. Jake Turpin, 10. Payne Haas, 11. David Fifita, 12. Ben Te'o, 13. Patrick Carrigan. Interchange: 14. Cory Paix, 15. Jordan Riki, 16. Joe Ofahengaue, 17. Matthew Lodge.Reserves: 18. Issac Luke, 19. Ethan Bullemor, 20. Rhys Kennedy, 21. Jesse Arthars.
David Polkinghorne
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
