The other side of Newcastle superstar Kalyn Ponga ahead of his move to five-eighth

Kalyn Ponga’s move to five-eighth will begin in earnest on Saturday afternoon but the Newcastle superstar refuses to give into the stress.

HOLD DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM DAILY TELEGRAPH SPORTS EDITORS ADAM MOBBS OR TIM MORRISSEY - Portrait of Newcastle Knights star Kalyn Ponga at Newcastle. Picture: Brett Costello

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Kalyn Ponga has stood on a surfboard only four times.

Which should be a worry.

Same deal his ongoing search for a drone remote control he misplaced a few days back, while indulging his growing love for photography.

“Although I’m thinking now I might’ve left it at a car yard,” Ponga shrugs. “I’ll go back in the next couple of days and check I guess”.

Oh, how good to be 21 again, ey?

Certainly it seems the case for Ponga.

This rising Newcastle wonderboy who, on Saturday -- in a trial against St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium, Wollongong -- begins the most hyped move into a No.6 jersey since Queensland icon Darren Lockyer did the same 15 years ago.

But worry?

Nup.

“Because I don’t listen when people are talking me up,” he says. “So why would I buy into the bad stuff?”

Um, maybe because you almost won the Dally M medal from fullback last year?

And as an NRL rookie.

Ponga will make the move to five-eighth this season. Picture by Brett Costello.

Or that similar switches have proved tough -- and in some cases, impossible -- for even league legends like Jamie Lyon, Mark Gasnier and Jarryd Hayne.

“Maybe,” he shrugs. “But I don’t see that as pressure.”

Speaking with The Saturday Telegraph on the eve of his ‘Six Experiment’, Ponga insists he’s ready to not only embrace the Newcastle five-eighth role, but also his promising partnership with Mitchell Pearce -- the halfback who, he says, “has a real talent for making those around him better”.

Elsewhere, Ponga concedes that while his Maori All Stars game at five-eighth wasn’t great -- “I didn’t do a good job of controlling the game’s speed” -- he still has no concerns about dealing with all the pressure, expectation and Lockyer comparisons that are surely coming.

And all because of some advice Billy Slater gave him.

“Billy said ‘whatever you do, do it your way’,” Ponga recalls. “He said it didn’t matter if I’m thinking about how to prepare, how run a certain play, even how kick the ball, I should do it my way.

“So that’s all I’m focusing on.”

Well, that ... and photography.

The owner of several cameras, Go Pros, even that drone missing its remote control, Ponga is so into photography the NRL have discussed producing a book of his work in 2019.

While yet to be signed off, the agreement would see Ponga shooting at home, training, even game day before then submitting the pictures he feels best represent his year.

So a great snapper then?

“No, not really,” the young Knight laughs. “But it gets me out of the house.

“I just love getting out and looking for quality photos.”

And as for the most photogenic Knight?

“Tautau Moga,” he says, referencing the 109kg centre. “We had a boxing session the other morning where some of the guys trained with their shirts off

“So I grabbed my camera and took a few shots of the big boy. (Laughs) Although he didn’t really do much boxing, he just stood there and posed.”

Apart from shooting his fellow Knights, Ponga also has a keen interest in surf photography.

“So I’ve bought the housing required to get in the water, too,” he says. “But right now, it’s only for my iPhone.

“The housing for cameras is just too expensive.”

And as for catching waves yourself?

“Hopeless,” he shrugs. “I’ve only ever stood up four times.

“Maybe if I got out more I’d be better but, you know ... I’m not really worried about it.”

Originally published as The other side of Newcastle superstar Kalyn Ponga ahead of his move to five-eighth