NRL 2023: Inside Kalyn Ponga’s line in the sand moment that changed Newcastle

When Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann walked into a cubicle, Newcastle was on the brink. Angry fans wanted blood. The media wanted a scalp. But it didn’t break them – it made them.

Kalyn Ponga’s stunning run of form, driving the Knights to an unlikely grand final, is being hailed by fans and commentators alike as the most influential impact on a club of all-time.

The Newcastle captain returns to the homeland of his parents, on a mission to secure a club-equalling record of 11 consecutive wins by beating the Warriors in a sold-out semi-final at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday afternoon.

As fast as his sublime footwork, how quickly the game moves on. Because if we want to understand how Ponga has arrived at his finest hour in blue and red, you must trace back to a lightbulb moment 13-months ago.

Ask those closest to Ponga at the Knights and they tell you the toilet cubicle saga involving teammate Kurt Mann at the Delany Pub in Newcastle was a line in the sand moment not just for the star fullback, but also for a club on the brink.

The Knights were under intense pressure but they opted not to do what other clubs have done in the past. Instead of bowing to the media pressure and angry fans baying for blood to strip Ponga of the captaincy, they stood by their lead man.

Kalyn Ponga – the most influential ever? Picture: Jonathan Ng

While their teammates were playing an away match, an injured Ponga and Mann were filmed walking into a cubicle together in August, 2022.

They both insisted they had done so because Ponga, 25, was feeling sick. The explanation polarised the game.

Yet from the moment Knights head of football Peter Parr addressed the issue, he insisted Ponga would remain captain.

It was a show of loyalty that has been rewarded with interest. Years earlier, when Cowboys champion Johnathan Thurston found himself locked up in a Brisbane watchhouse, Parr and his then-club North Queensland backed their man to the hilt.

Thurston returned the favour by guiding North Queensland to the one and only premiership in their history.

Parr saw parallels to the storm brewing around Ponga. Rather than drop the hammer on their talisman, both Parr and coach Adam O’Brien, opted to provide him with support.

“I thought for Kalyn that was a bit of a lightbulb moment for him because Kalyn still maintains he didn’t do anything wrong that night with Kurt,” Parr said.

“I believe him – I believed him from the start. The thing that surprised Kalyn was the amount of attention it got. I think he realised then that it was a good reminder to him of his profile and his standing at the Knights.

“I think the way that Kalyn has bounced back from that, his concussions, his calf injury in the off-season, people suggesting he didn’t care enough, he way he has handled it is a real credit to him.”

Ponga and Kurt Mann pictured being asked to leave the toilet cubicle last year.

And it’s become a line in the sand moment.

The same applies to 22-year-old centre Bradman Best after his axing following a poor showing in Brisbane last season.

Best met Parr in the days after he was late for the team bus and was told some home truths. In the round 22 loss to the Broncos, Best had been late to the play on a handful of occasions.

Best’s tardiness off the field was being mirrored by his on-field shortcomings. It was symptomatic of a club that had let its standards slip.

Parr pulled no punches. Call it tough love if you will. Best recognised his flaws, and he now finds himself on the verge of an Australian Test team call-up.

“I didn’t think when I arrived that there was a good enough attention to detail,” Parr told this masthead.

“I have to qualify it by saying that I came in at the back end of a very trying year for the club.

“I understood the need for trying to keep players happy and things like that to get through the season, but I didn’t think at the time that the attention to detail was good enough.

“When you don’t have good attention to detail, standards can be slipping without you even realising. Their results on the field were reflecting their actions off it.

“I watched Bradman play a game against the Broncos and I saw Adam Clune create three or four chances for him and he was late on each occasion to get into position.

“Then he was late for the bus the next day. When I spoke to Bradman I said it is no surprise to me that you were late for a bus because you were late for your assignments the night before.

“He will tell you that getting stood down was the best thing to happen to him.”

Danny Buderus was charged with passing some of his knowledge onto the Knights leaders in the wake of the incident. Picture: Liam Driver.

The result has been a more assured and assertive Ponga. Picture: NRL Photos

Ponga was a different and much more significant story. He is one of the biggest names in the game and with his head above the parapet, the crosshairs were out.

In the wake of that incident, former head of football Danny Buderus had his role re-assigned.

One of the greatest captains in Newcastle and NSW history was charged with passing some of his knowledge onto the Knights leaders, among them Ponga.

The result has been a more assured and assertive captain. Ponga may not be the loudest voice in the room, but he is among the most respected. He has demanded more of himself this season and his teammates have followed.

“I remember listening to the noise at the time and talking to Parry (Peter Parr), who was saying, let‘s just deal with what is in front of us, which was the facts,” Buderus said.

“He knew that he needed to make a decision based on the facts of what it was. That takes some leadership to do that.

“We’ve got an exceptional talent in Kalyn, but Tyson (Frizell’s) mindset and drive to be the best he can be, he oozes mental and physical toughness.

“Then you’ve got communication from Adam Elliott has been really good for the group. And the Saifiti (Jacob and Daniel) boys, the way they communicate is through their actions and I think that’s been a big transformation for those boys.

“They feel they need to lead the standards and the systems in the club. Everyone learns differently, everyone leads differently. They have seen it at the worst times.

“They are all understanding what it takes to prepare to win.”

Can the generational talent lead the Knights to an unlikely premiership? Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

At the forefront of it all is Ponga, a generational talent who has the Knights on the cusp of history.

“You can’t just make a bloke captain and expect him to be a leader,” Parr said.

“We reallocated Danny’s duties and part of that was leadership because he was one of the great leaders of the Knights and NSW.

“When (Kalyn) speaks he makes a lot of sense. He articulates himself particularly well. I think one of his greatest strengths hindered him a bit was the fact he was so humble.

“He is a really humble guy, I don’t feel the spoke up a lot of times because he didn’t want to look as though he was better than anyone else.

“He has had a lot to deal with the last 12 months and he has handled it superbly.”

Originally published as NRL 2023: Inside Kalyn Ponga’s line in the sand moment that changed Newcastle