NRL 2022: Knights star Kalyn Ponga opens up on future as Dolphins circle

Nerves have been fraying in Newcastle as the Dolphins circle with multimillion-dollar intent for superstar Kalyn Ponga.

Matthew Johns wants his brother Andrew to consider becoming an NRL head coach. Picture by Liam Driver.

Newcastle supporters can breathe a sigh of relief.

Only days after Andre Ponga hinted that his superstar son would stay at the Knights, Kalyn Ponga has all but confirmed he isn’t going anywhere as he embraces a leadership role and learns from club legend Andrew Johns.

Ponga, a Fox League ambassador, has until June to take up an option in his contract with the Knights for next season and nerves have been fraying in Newcastle as the Dolphins circle with multimillion-dollar intent.

However, their approach is set to come up short after Ponga insisted he remained committed to Newcastle.

“I am locked into the Knights,” Ponga said.

“I haven’t put pen to paper but I am dedicated and all my energy and focus has been getting this team ready for the season that is ahead.

“I haven’t thought about the contract but I never really do. It is something I have never worried about. I let other people around me think about that and focus about that.”

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Newcastle star Kalyn Ponga insists he remains committed to the Knights. Pic: Knights Digital

Asked whether he could give assurances he would return to Newcastle in 2023, Ponga replied: “I think so. I’m pretty certain I will be, yeah.

“I am really enjoying everything at the moment — I am enjoying my work here at the Knights, Joey (Johns) has come on board, Bedsy (club legend Danny Buderus) is more hands on, our coaching staff is more stable.

“I am enjoying where we are as a club. When the time is right, I have trust in my old man that he will let me know this is the reality.

“Up until that I am excited for the trials. We have been tackling each other for the past two months. The last thing I want to be doing is thinking about that stuff.”

Kalyn Ponga has until June to take up an option in his contract with the Knights for next season. Picture: NRL Photos

Ponga has enough on his plate. With the departure of Mitchell Pearce and the pre-season injury suffered by captain Jayden Brailey, he is in line to lead the side through the start of the season.

Knights insiders have waxed lyrical about Ponga’s burgeoning leadership skills and he concedes he has consciously become a more influential figure over the past two years as part of a personal commitment to challenge Nathan Cleary, James Tedesco and Tom Trbojevic as the best player in the game.

“I never really played sport to be any less than the best, even when I was 12 years old,” he said.

“That is something that doesn’t play on my mind, but I think about. When you come into the league and have the year I did, it probably comes a bit easy.

Kalyn Ponga is in line to lead the Knights. Picture: Getty Images

“I have learnt it is not that easy. You just want to be the best version of yourself. That is what I am chasing. I guess I probably realised I have been in the game for four years — going into my fifth year — and I don’t want my next five to look like my last five.

“I want to be better, I want to improve and I want the people around me to be better as well.”

On a personal level, the arrival of Johns has been a Godsend as far as Ponga is concerned. Remarkably, he has two of the game’s sharpest minds in his corner — he caught up with Queensland coach Billy Slater recently and the lines of communication are always open.

Johns is more readily available given he is a constant at Newcastle training.

“It has been awesome to see him back in Knights colours, to be coached by him and see how passionate and detailed he is with his work,” Ponga said.

The arrival of Andrew Johns at Newcastle has been a huge boost for Kalyn Ponga. Picture: Liam Driver

“We have a pretty young spine. He has been really hands on and really good to be honest. At the moment he is working on the detail of the game, both skill and general knowledge.

“Joey’s knowledge on rugby league is what sets him apart when he was playing. I am still learning those sort of things. I think generally my knowledge on how to beat people, decision-making and ball-playing, those sort of things, I have picked up from playing other sports.

“To nail the full ins and outs of rugby league you really just have to study Joey’s games. You can tell he is passionate too which is huge for us.

“I am just trying to pick up as much as I can and be a sponge.”

JOHNS BACKS BROTHER FOR NRL COACHING GIG

Matthew Johns wants his brother Andrew — rugby league’s eighth Immortal — to seriously consider becoming an NRL head coach.

He can see the twinkle in Andrew’s eye thanks to his work with Newcastle, where he is a member of the coaching staff.

He points to his brother’s tactical acumen and his ability to handle pressure. He has watched his brother ride the rugby league rollercoaster and emerge with his reputation intact, albeit sporting some well-documented battle scars.

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Armed with the right support staff, he insists Andrew would handle head coaching on his ear.

“It is the best I have seen him — he is happy when he is coaching,” Matthew Johns said at the launch of Fox League on Tuesday.

“He should do it full time. We were having breakfast one day with the boys and I could just see how happy he was.

Andrew Johns is part of the Knights’ coaching staff in 2022. Picture: Liam Driver

“I said ‘mate, one day in the future, you find the right team and you have the right team around you, there is no reason you couldn’t’.

“If you look at the model like Craig (Bellamy), they have the best team around them. All the best coaches have teams around them with blokes who can take their jobs.

“All the top teams have great staff and it allows the coach to pull back.”

Andrew Johns has shown little inclination for head coaching and insists he enjoys his role as a specialist coach. Ask him and he will tell you he is reluctant to put himself under the pressure of being the man in the crosshairs.

Yet his brother insists there is a fire that burns and will only be extinguished should he try his hand at the top job.

“I think he could do it,” Matthew said.

“I think if you asked him now, he is working with the (Newcastle) Knights, it is fulfilling and the season hasn’t started yet, he would say no but he would be thinking, ‘yeah, I could’.

“One of the secrets is you have to have practical knowledge, which he has better than anyone. The second one is you have to be able to handle pressure — he can handle pressure.

“On the field he had to handle pressure but he has had some things in his life he had to get through. Once you get through that and you survive, you go nothing can kill me.”

Matthew Johns believes his brother Andrew would be an excellent NRL head coach.

For the time being, Andrew Johns has been charged with igniting a Knights side that must somehow find a way to overcome the loss of Mitchell Pearce.

The key will be fullback Kalyn Ponga, who is yet to officially commit to the club beyond this year but is expected to stay thanks in part to the presence of the eighth Immortal on the coaching staff.

Matthew believes his brother will bring out the best in Ponga and help him fulfil his immense potential.

“They need to have him play at least 20 games,” Matthew said of Ponga.

“I think he is transitioning. He is at the (Brad) Fittler junction — Freddie was a mega talent who one day woke up and went I am going to be a leader.

Andrew Johns will focus on igniting the Knights’ attack. Picture: Liam Driver

“I think with Joey (Andrew Johns) there, he is getting him to understand that with his talent comes responsibility.

“Kalyn is getting that understanding from Joey. Joey was the same — this prodigious talent who would throw tantrums at training and carry on.

“At one point he said I want to be the best player in the game and a leader. He became that.”

Ponga has until the start of June to finalise his plans for next season but whispers out of Newcastle suggest that he is ready to commit to the Knights.

“I think a good start to the season would cement it,” Matthew Johns said.

“I am still nervous but I think I was really nervous about six weeks ago. All the current noise, it seems he is going to stay.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Knights star Kalyn Ponga opens up on future as Dolphins circle