Maroons sensation Kalyn Ponga injured as Newcastle fall 36-16 to Canterbury

ROOKIE sensation Kalyn Ponga is in serious doubt for Origin III after suffering a hamstring injury in Newcastle’s 36-16 loss to Canterbury.

Kalyn Ponga of the Knights is treated for a hamstring tear during the Round 16 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Saturday, June 30, 2018. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

LIFE without Kalyn Ponga proved too much to ask for an injury ravaged Newcastle side who were shock 36-16 losers to Canterbury on Saturday night.

Ponga limped from the field with a hamstring strain, lasting just 14 minutes and now placing his Origin place in extreme doubt while teammate Slade Griffin looks to have suffered a serious knee injury.

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Any hamstring tear would almost certainly rule Ponga out of the Maroons clash against NSW next Wednesday after starring off the bench in his game two debut. The injury opens the door for Daly Cherry-Evans’ Origin exile to end after he lead Manly to an upset win against Blues halves pairing Nathan Cleary and James Maloney earlier in the day.

There were suggestions that Cherry-Evans could wear the No. 7 jersey leaving Moses Mby, Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt to fight it out for a bench spot.

Knights coach Nathan Brown said he “wouldn’t rule Ponga out”.

Newcastle were ravaged by injuries through the match. Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images.

“To what extent (the injury) is I don’t know,” Brown said before Ponga has scans today. “Whether it’s a short one or long one. I would be only guessing. Any time someone is coming off after 10 minutes or so there are concerns they can turn themselves around quickly. The scan will tell the story. If he is any chance he will give his best account.”

While Ponga’s short-term future is in doubt, there were graves fears for Griffin who was rushed to hospital during last night’s game. Griffin failed to finish the first half and has a history of serious knee injuries having had three knee reconstructions before joining the Knights.

Griffin went down with a serious knee injury. AAP Image/Darren Pateman.

“(He) was in a lot of pain,” Brown said. “One ligament or multiple ligament (we don’t know). He is certainly not in a good way. We are crossing our fingers. He has had some tough times throughout his career.”

The only positive for Newcastle is Mitchell Pearce’s return for their next clash against Parramatta on July 13 but they could be minus halfback Jack Cogger who has put off an operation on a finger injury until Pearce’s return. The defeat all but ends the Knights slim hopes of a finals finish.

Canterbury produced one of their best performances of the year. AAP Image/Darren Pateman.

The Bulldogs were a much improved side from the team which were embarrassed in their last start against the Gold Coast where they were given a public smashing by coach Dean Pay.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Pay said. “Against the Gold Coast that just wasn’t us. Tonight we spoke about it and we prepared better.”

The victory ends a four-game losing streak for the Bulldogs and gives them a four point break against the last placed Parramatta as they cracked the 30 point barrier for the first time this year.

Watson scampered over for a double. AAP Image/Darren Pateman.

Pay said the departures of Moses Mbye and Aaron Woods could allow the playing group to focus now the ongoing uncertainty appears over.

“You say it doesn’t affect you but in some way it does to a certain degree,” Pay said.

Canterbury trailed 16-12 at halftime despite starting the better of the two sides. They jumped to a 6-0 after a stunning Reimis Smith no-look pass on a short blindside to send Kerrod Holland over to complete a 70 metre movement midway through the opening half.

Holland scored the Bulldogs next try but the Knights took a halftime lead with Connor Watson scoring twice.

Canterbury scored 24 unanswered second half points including two tries in the opening seven minutes.

CANTERBURY 36 (K Holland 2 F Brown J Jackson J Marshall-King R Smith tries R Martin 6 goals) bt NEWCASTLE 16 (C Watson 2 H Ese’ese tries K Sio 2 goals) at McDonald Jones Stadium. Referee: Henry Perenara, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski. Crowd: 17,755

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Originally published as Maroons sensation Kalyn Ponga injured as Newcastle fall 36-16 to Canterbury