‘Whatever will be’: Kalyn Ponga’s cryptic post amid fears for future

Kalyn Ponga has broken his silence on his latest concussion drama as the NRL fears for the 24-year-old’s future in the game.

Ponga's cryptic post. Photo: Instagram and Getty Images

Adam O’Brien says he has concerns over Kalyn Ponga’s long-term future and can understand why people want his star player to return to fullback, but the Knights coach says he’ll leave it to the medical experts before he comments further.

Ponga suffered his fourth concussion in the past 10 months while trying to make a tackle in the second minute of last week’s gritty win over the Wests Tigers.

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It’s the latest in a string of head knocks that ultimately ended his 2022 season prematurely when the Knights decided to take a safety first approach with their most important player.

But Ponga himself broke his silence on Thursday, posting on Instagram with a loaded messages for his followers.

“Appreciate all the love and support over the past couple of days,” Ponga wrote on Instagram.

“Whatever will be, will be.

“Appreciate you guys though, thank you xx.”

Ponga's cryptic post. Photo: Instagram

It was a tough sight to see from Ponga last week. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

O’Brien said Ponga and his family were “in good spirits” and he wanted to let Professor Chris Levi handle it before he made any calls on when his five-eighth might return.

There has been a push from some of the leading voices in the game to move Ponga back to fullback for his own safety, but as O’Brien pointed out, this was his first concussion defending in the front line after several head knocks at the back last year.

It’s why he’s resultant to make any positional decisions right now, although he was quick to praise the NRL for introducing a mandatory 11-day stand-down policy for concussed players.

“I completely understand where people are coming from. Ultimately, everyone wants Kalyn in the game, and everyone wants to take care of this guy,” O’Brien replied when asked about moving Ponga to fullback.

“He’s got a lot of life to lead yet, so that’s first and foremost. But there are a number of conversations that will need to be had, but we’re nowhere near that point yet.”

There are calls for Ponga to return to fullback to protect himself from the front line, but his coach says it’s too early to make that call. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The Knights coach was also asked whether he feared for Ponga’s long-term health after his latest head knock.

“Of course, I’m a human being. I’m not just talking about his footy future,” he said.

“It’s not a good look what you saw on the weekend, but there are a number of things to be talked about. That’s his first one in the front line – the concussions he had last year were at fullback.

“It’s in the hands of someone that’s way smarter than me. Until we get to that, there’s no point commenting any further.”

The Knights have been forced to make a number of changes with several stars missing, including Jacob Saifiti who has been suspended for five games. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The Knights have been forced into several major changes, with Jayden Brailey (concussion), Jacob Saifiti (suspension) and Tyson Frizell (foot) joining Ponga on the sidelines for Friday’s home game against the unbeaten Dolphins.

“I’m getting pretty used to it over the past few years in terms of missing personnel,” O’Brien said.

Originally published as ‘Whatever will be’: Kalyn Ponga’s cryptic post amid fears for future