Newcastle Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga tries out parenting challenge

He runs rings around the competition on the footy field, but Newcastle Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga had the tables turned when he tried his hand at parenting for the day.

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Being a professional rugby league player is one of the most physically demanding jobs there is.

But as Newcastle Knights star Kalyn Ponga found out, it pales in comparison to the physicality that mums and dads endure every day.

Kalyn Ponga of the Knights had no idea about the difficulties of parenthood. Picture: Darren Pateman

As part of an experiment with V8 Juice, the 20-year-old spent an entire day with the Rea family from Thornleigh.

The Stay at Home Athlete challenge saw parents Damien and Tia leave their four children Max (11), Noah (9), Alex (9) and Amelie (3) and dog Ruby in Ponga’s care as a camera crew and accredited sports dietitian monitored him during a full day of parental duties.

The distance covered by Kalyn Ponga during a 10-hour day of parenting.

The elite fullback wore a calorie and step tracking device to monitor how much energy he spent as he went about everyday parenting duties over a 10-hour period.

His tasks for the day included everything from making breakfast and taking the kids to the playground to cleaning, grocery shopping and even changing nappies.

The amount of energy burned by Kalyn Ponga during a 10-hour day of parenting.

The full schedule of parental activities saw Ponga burn 1988 calories, 1300 more than the 680 calories he would usually burn in an 80-minute game of rugby league.

“The V8 Stay at Home Athlete experiment shows how everyday parenting tasks are more physically and mentally demanding than many would expect,” sports dietitian Rebecca Hay said.

Sports dietitian Rebecca Hay. Picture: Russ Quinn

“(It also) highlights the importance of parents staying on top of their game by including vegetables in their diet and making sure that they look after themselves just as well as their kids.”

For Ponga, the experiment proved to be an “eye-opening” experience.

“I didn’t expect the day to be as tiring as it was,” he said.

“The physical part, on top of the mental element of dealing with young, energetic kids has given me a whole new perspective on what it’s like to be a parent and made me really appreciate my own mum.

“Parents are stay at home athletes and deserve so much respect.”