Kalyn Ponga: Story behind his rise to become a NRL star at Newcastle
The infamous toilet cubicle incident and a series of head knocks added more layers of intrigue to a NRL player who continues to amaze fans. This is the story of Kalyn Ponga’s rise.
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He’s young, has a million dollar footy contract in his pocket, launched a clothing brand and has long been in the sights of the All Blacks.
Kalyn Ponga may stand among the NRL’s most marketable talents but his story, mixed with tries and tragedies, has been far from smooth.
From contract debacles to head knocks, from nationality debates to his toilet cubicle incident in August 2022, the fullback has compacted a lot into his life already.
In September 2023 he capped a remarkable revival to claim the Dally M Medal.
This is the tale of Kalyn Ponga >>>
FAMILY LIFE
Ponga’s rise to the top of the NRL has been far from typical.
Born March 30, 1998 in rugby league outpost Port Hedland, Western Australia, Ponga’s dad Andre is a passionate New Zealander.
The family endured early hardships when Ponga’s 18-month-old brother Kacey drowned after falling into an open septic tank in Mt Isa. Ponga was seven at the time.
“I was just a little kid. As I got older, and definitely now, I can see why it’s brought us so close. Life’s pretty short, so you have to make the most of it,” Ponga told The Sunday Mail in 2018.
Ponga has a tattoo of a bumblebee on his left ankle in tribute to Kacey.
“That is his way of recognising his brother, rather than having his name and birthday,” Andre told The Weekend Australian in 2018.
“It is the little things that me and (his) mum appreciate.”
In the following years Kalyn’s cousin, Manaia, took her own life.
“She was a similar age to Kalyn and the two were close. They spent a lot of time together growing up during the five years we spent back in New Zealand after Kacey’s death,” Andre wrote for Athletes Voice in 2019.
In 2006 the family relocated to Palmerston North in New Zealand and spent five years there.
The Pongas were on the move again in 2011, this time in Mackay in Queensland.
Ponga attended Mackay State High School and was signed to a scholarship with the Central Queensland NRL bid side.
In 2013, Ponga’s mother Adine suffered a stroke after giving birth to sister Kayley.
“Due to the things that have happened in the past, it’s brought my family closer,” Ponga told The Sunday Mail.
In 2018 Ponga and four mates launched clothing brand Barrel Boys, described as mates who share a “passion for surfing, good times and a bit of footy”.
Ponga’s relationship with his family remains strong, evidenced by the fact his parents and sister headed to Newcastle with him when he signed for the Knights in 2018.
In 2020 the Daily Telegraph reported about his successful foray into social media with TikTok.
FOOTY CAREER
There was never much doubt about the talent.
The speed, the sidestep, the skills.
Ponga, clearly, could have made it in several sports.
After stints in touch football, hockey, rugby union and soccer, Ponga proved his talents by claiming New Zealand’s under-13 national golf championship in 2010.
“As a kid, I played a lot of touch football and a bit of soccer, but I actually wanted to be a pro golfer,” he said in 2016.
An Australian Schoolboys rugby league under-15s star at just 14 in 2012, Ponga was a Brisbane Broncos scholarship holder.
While attending Anglican Church Grammar School he lined up for their GPS rugby union side as well as for Easts Tigers in the Cyril Connell Cup.
After being spotted at a rugby league rep match, Ponga also landed a start in the Brisbane Lions Talent Academy.
After stints across many codes, rugby league won out … although even that has been a winding road.
In 2015 Ponga signed with the North Queensland Cowboys, however he missed five months of the under-20s season while he recovered from a brain infection.
In 2016 he was chosen in the QAS under-20s Origin squad, and in May had his first taste of the looming tug of war when he was selected for the Junior Kangaroos and Junior Kiwis.
He ultimately didn’t play for either but was picked in the under-20s team of the year at fullback.
In September Ponga made his NRL debut on the wing in the semi-final against the Broncos.
However within two months it was announced he would join the Knights on a four-year deal that would make him the highest paid teenager in NRL history.
Ponga lined up in seven NRL matches for the Cowboys in 2017 but it was at the Knights that his career took off.
The whiz-kid played 20 matches and made his State of Origin debut for Queensland — following a drawn-out battle for his national allegiance — during a stunning 2018 emergence.
Ponga went on to establish himself as a marquee man at Newcastle, claiming the captaincy before his infamous toilet scandal.
In March 2023 he opened up on his decision to reject a move to new NRL side the Dolphins.
By September that decision was justified when he claimed the Dally M Medal for player of the year.
After a flying start to 2024 Ponga was under several injury clouds as season-ending surgery threatened to derail his bid to return to the Origin lineup.
BIGGEST TALKING POINTS
TUG OF WAR
His dad is a proud New Zealander but Ponga was always going to be in demand by the Aussies.
As the hottest teen talent emerging in 2016, speculation was rife over which way Ponga would lean.
Selected in both junior national squads in 2016 — though ultimately not playing for either — Ponga was a wanted man by the Queensland Maroons within a year.
That lure proved telling.
“I have spoken to Kalyn and he has indicated that he wants to be part of the Queensland pathways which is very exciting for Kalyn and very exciting for the Queensland Rugby League,” then Origin coach Kevin Walters said in 2017.
“He is a player of the future so it is good news for Maroons fans that he has confirmed his allegiance with us.”
Ponga explained his choice to the Courier-Mail in 2018.
“I’ve always felt comfortable at heart here in Australia. I was born here and did my schooling here,” Ponga said.
“To be honest it wasn’t really that tough. I knew at heart that I wanted to pledge my allegiance to Queensland and Australia.”
Ponga, though, has previously touched on his rumoured “All Blacks” clause which could see him eventually live out a dream of representing his father’s birth nation in rugby union.
‘THICKSHAKE’ REMARK
In 2019 Ponga caused a stir with flippant remarks in the wake of the sacking of Knights coach Nathan Brown.
“I was at lunch having a nice strawberry thickshake, so I wasn’t too sad,” Ponga said a day after it was confirmed the coach would leave.
After Newcastle was trounced 46-4 by Wests Tigers in the following days, Ponga reflected on his comments.
“Yeah I can understand (the fans disappointments),” Ponga told Fox Sports.
“I spoke to Browny before that interview, and he said ‘don’t make it a big thing in the media, we’ve got a job to do’.
“Me being me, I came out and made that comment, probably at the wrong time and in the wrong manner.”
“Browny has done a lot for me. I spoke to him after (the comment) and he addressed me and said: ‘look kid, I understand our relationship’.”
Ponga called it a “learning curve”.
“When you get questioned about your playing ability, I can cop that,” he said.
“But when you get questioned about who you are as a person, your integrity, it doesn’t only affect you, it affects your parents.
“Mum and dad were pretty disappointed, mum razzed me a couple of times, which is fair.”
HEAD KNOCKS
In July 2022 Ponga conceded he felt as though he let the Knights down after another concussion forced him off the field eight minutes into a loss to the Roosters.
He was in tears in the dressing room after failing a Head Injury Assessment for the fifth time in the campaign.
“He’s upset at the moment. He wants to come back and play well at the club, especially after Origin, but we’ll go through the process during the week,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien told media after the match.
As Ponga sat out the closing rounds of the 2022 season, Roosters player and close mate Connor Watson told the NRL website of the concerns.
“He’s a tough character but it’s just one of those things, because head knocks are a bit of the unknown. There’s more and more science on it now, so he’s probably going to have to have a little bit of time off, I’d say,” Watson said.
The debate wasn’t going to go away, however.
In Round 2 of 2023 against Wests Tigers he was again left concussed - leading to a trip to Canada to see specialists and even more speculation about his future in the game.
Touching on how he’d tweak his tackling style, Ponga in March 2023 admitted he had to consider his future in the game.
“It was pretty difficult. To have that thought that you might have to stop playing was pretty weird,” Ponga said.
“But I was trying to be positive and open-minded about everything that was happening. I‘m pretty good at doing that, to be honest.”
ANDRE’S INFLUENCE
As a proud father Andre was always going to bring a passionate influence.
Add in his role as Ponga’s unaccredited agent and the protection of Ponga was destined to be strong.
In the wake of news of Ponga’s deal with the Knights in 2016, Andre outlined his concerns over his son’s treatment by the Cowboys.
“They didn’t allow him to do virtually anything outside of playing footy,” Andre told the Daily Telegraph.
“As a family, we have always preached that footy is always the B option and education the A option.
“The Cowboys knew that was a priority for us when he signed in 2013.
“But since rejecting April’s offer, they don’t want to know about it and it’s left Kalyn disillusioned because they are not offering any encouragement to him.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the off-field stuff that was promised, that was going to help him develop as a person off the field, has not been adhered to at the Cowboys.”
Then Fox Sports expert Ben Ikin hit back.
“For his dad to go public the way he has, all he’s effectively done is put his son under all sorts of pressure,” he said in 2016.
“All his dad needs to worry about is engaging professional advice that can manage Kalyn’s career the way it needs to be, keep his mouth shut and make sure he’s got a loving and safe environment to come home to.”
In April 2022 Andre was reportedly forced to apologise to Knights powerbrokers after meddling in how Ponga’s new mega-rich five-year deal would be announced.
The rollercoaster saga at one stage was reportedly close to blowing up entirely, before Andre’s back-pedalling allowed the messy incident to be resolved.
Andre was in August 2022 maligned for his excuse as to why Ponga was caught emerging from a toilet cubicle with teammate Kurt Mann.
TOILET INCIDENT
The rugby league world was left speculating as to what really happened in the Delany Hotel toilet cubicle in August 2022.
Ponga and teammate Kurt Mann were initially backed by Andre Ponga, who insisted his son simply had too much to drink. The pair were later revealed to have been there for 25 minutes.
Sidelined duo Ponga and Mann were subsequently drug-tested by the NRL.
There was no suggestion the duo had done anything illegal.
Immortal Andrew Johns was among many to weigh in.
“It’s hard for me to comment because I’ve lived a colourful life … but it makes me sad, not angry,” he told Channel 9.
“The Kalyn and Kurt Mann stuff is still before the tribunal. It’s not a good look when your team is playing away and the captain’s out, and you’re out on the drink.”
The issue sparked conversations around whether Ponga is the right man to lead the Knights after a poor season in 2022.
“Those questions are warranted,” Johns said. “I think he does (need the captaincy) – he’s their best player.”
In February 2023, after avoiding any NRL sanction, Ponga insisted he was simply “sick” during the toilet incident.
“It was a period that I will look back on and hopefully down the track - and even now - it is probably one of the most difficult moments of my life,” he said.
Ponga had previously been accused of being a “protected species” after a series of seemingly minor indiscretions by teammates led to sanctions.
Knights coach Adam O’Brien insisted despite the incident Ponga doesn’t wield too much power at the club.
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