Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga disappointed over Kalyn Ponga’s Kangaroos snub for upcoming Pacific Championships

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has admitted he is bitterly disappointed by Kalyn Ponga’s decision to pull out of contention for the Pacific Championships in a bid to prioritise his focus on the Newcastle Knights.

(L-R) Kalyn Ponga and Peter V'landys.

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has spoken to Kalyn Ponga but says he remains bitterly disappointed with the Newcastle star’s decision to pull out of contention for the Pacific Championships.

Meninga released a statement late on Wednesday night, reiterating that playing for the Kangaroos should be the pinnacle of the game and backing plans by ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys to investigate Ponga’s decision to make himself unavailable for Australian selection.

“Playing for the Kangaroos is the pinnacle of the game in this country,“ Meninga said.

“I was disappointed not only that Kalyn made the decision that he was unavailable for the Kangaroos but also the process which led to the decision and the announcement.

“I have spoken to Kalyn since and while I understand his intent, it doesn’t erase the disappointment in the decision.

“I’m pleased that Peter V’landys has come out so strongly and I support the game in ensuring that there is a proper process around players being ruled out of playing for their country.”

Mal Meninga has expressed his disappointment over Kalyn Ponga’s decision to withdraw from Test selection. Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

It is understood Ponga earlier on Wednesday apologised to Meninga for the manner in which he withdrew from contention for the Pacific Championships, having released a statement via Newcastle in which he said he was focused on winning a premiership with the Knights..

This masthead understands Ponga was remorseful over not contacting Meninga or V’landys before putting out his own statement.

The development comes after V’landys expressed his disappointment in Ponga’s decision, which would be investigated by the league, and rumours of a switch of allegiance to New Zealand were put to bed.

The Dally M sensation was on the brink of a maiden green-and-gold jersey, with Ponga having been selected in a preliminary Australian squad for Tests against Tonga and New Zealand in October.

It is understood the Knights were contacted on Tuesday morning about Ponga’s selection in that squad, prompting the Newcastle skipper to release a statement explaining his decision to reject an Australian jumper.

Kalyn Ponga has prioritised the Knights over playing for Australia. Picture: Getty Images

V’landys, as ARLC chair, rubber-stamps key decisions made on the national side and he won’t stand for NRL players potentially undermining the prestige of representing one of Australia’s most iconic sporting teams.

“It’s quite surprising and disappointing that anyone would contemplate not taking that honour of representing your country,” V’landys said of Ponga’s stance.

Asked if he will force Ponga to play for Australia in future, he added: “Well, I don’t want to use the word force, but I’m going to investigate this one, put it that way.

“For me, what’s more disappointing is when I was a kid, my dream was to play for Australia, to represent your country.

“As a sportsperson, that should be your ambition in any sport - to represent your country.

“That’s what this point is for me.

“The thing that hurts me the most is that you don’t want to represent your country and wear the green and gold.

“Kids and people would dream to represent their country in anything.”

The shock nature of Ponga’s decision prompted suggestions on Wednesday that he had turned his back on the Kangaroos in order to keep the door open for New Zealand, the land of his parent’s birth.

Ponga had suggested some years ago that he would be keen to play for the All Blacks if he switched codes and his parents had made no secret of their desire to see their son play for New Zealand.

However, it was confirmed on Wednesday that Ponga was ineligible to play rugby league for New Zealand because he represented Australia at the World Nines in 2019.

Meninga, meanwhile, is determined to select players totally committed to the Kangaroos.

The issue first reached a flashpoint at the 2017 World Cup when then Sharks prop Andrew Fifita sensationally rejected Australian selection to represent Tonga.

The NRL’s club licensing agreements make it clear that the 17 franchises must make their players available for representative selection.

Those clauses are generally overlooked where there is a legitimate reason for a player withdrawing from representative football such as injury or retirement after long service for state or country.

Ponga adopted a similar stance last year when he withdrew from Queensland Origin calculations.

On that occasion, he was making his comeback from a long stint on the sidelines following a series of concussions and it was accepted by Maroons coach Billy Slater as a legitimate explanation.

In this instance, V’landys will take a deeper look at his reasoning given Ponga’s Knights contract states that a player must make himself available for representative football.

V’landys said Ponga and other NRL players are bound by contracting rules and cannot simply stand down of their volition because they don’t feel like playing for Australia.

“The rules are pretty descriptive now,” V’landys said.

ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys. Picture: David Swift.

“There’s contractual obligations and club license obligations.

“When you sign a player contract, you make yourself available to play for your country - and in the club licence, the club has to release a player for representative duties.

“So it’s already covered off.

“What players have to understand, the pinnacle of our game is to wear the green and gold of Australia.

“To represent your country, there’s no greater honour than to represent Australia and put that green and gold on.

“Mal Meninga has done a great job in highlighting to all the players how honoured they should be to wear the green and gold of Australia.”

Ponga insists he has great respect for the Australia jumper, but wants to hit the ground running in pre-season in his quest to skipper Newcastle to a premiership.

“I want to win a comp, for me anything short of that, isn’t success,” Ponga said.

“My focus has never shifted from wanting to win a premiership with the Knights, that has been my goal since I joined the club in 2018 and continues to be my focus.

“When I’m done, I want to look back at my career with a positive reflection, including people saying he was a great signing and represented our community to the best of his ability.

Australia head coach Mal Meninga. Picture: Getty Images

“For now, I don’t feel like I have earned that yet, that’s why I have made this decision and will work hard every day to chase those goals.”

Kangaroos coach Meninga told this masthead last month that he wanted players passionate about the green-and-gold jumper after seeing NSW Origin stars Jarome Luai and Brian To’o pledge their allegiance to Samoa.

“Players are making some really good decisions about who they want to play with,” Meninga said.

“I want to pick players for Australia that want to put that Kangaroo jersey on.

“The pinnacle of any game is to pull on your country’s jersey.

“People assume that Origin is the benchmark for players, but anyone who loves their country aspires to go one step further than that.

“Representing your country is your greatest personal reward and it doesn’t get any bigger than pulling on a Kangaroos jersey.”

Originally published as Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga disappointed over Kalyn Ponga’s Kangaroos snub for upcoming Pacific Championships