NRL 2022 Newcastle Knights v Manly Sea Eagles: All the news, result and stats
Newcastle skipper Kalyn Ponga’s not-so-secret meeting with the Dolphins has become the hot topic as the Sea Eagles revealed targeting him to drain the effectiveness of the Knights.
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On any other night, the blowtorch would have been firmly applied to the Knights after they fell apart in the second half to lose 30-6 to a Sea Eagles side missing Tom Trbojevic.
But these are no ordinary times.
In a week that centred on Kalyn Ponga’s future after a not-so-secret meeting with Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett, the Knights skipper had a chance to show the locals that his heart was still in the Hunter.
He scored a try and nearly set up another, but he just doesn’t look right in attack and his involvements are way down on what they should be.
It’s why the post-match media conference quickly shifted from Newcastle’s dismal showing to Ponga’s future.
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“I’m just trying to handle what’s on the field,” he said, clearly not wanting to delve too deeply into the subject.
“I don’t know if you (the media) notice, but every time you ask me, I don’t give you an answer. Stay patient. I’ve got people working on it. My focus is always here and you know that.
“It obviously happened, but once it happened, I moved on and I worried about the game.”
Knights coach Adam O’Brien then stepped in, keen to downplay the role last week’s meeting had on his side.
“It’s not a lunch date,” he said.
“It’s his right and it’s in his contract; a contract that we wrote. I’m comfortable because I don’t see a difference in any of his preparation or his hunger at training. That hasn’t wavered, and I’ve got a radar out for that stuff.
“I want him to make the best decision with all the information on the table. There are no regrets. If he chooses to stay then he’s made the decision with all the facts. I’m really comfortable with it either way.
“He’s worth waiting for.”
The Knights skipper was kept quiet in the first half as the Sea Eagles jammed in whenever he touched the ball. He was hit high by Morgan Harper and then came off a minute later when his head smashed into the turf, but Ponga did return in the second half.
“It was sweet,” he said.
“I’m obviously disappointed with the result.”
He threatened to win the game by himself when he backed up to score their first try and then looked to have set up Chris Randall with a lovely grubber to give his side the lead, but replays showed the hooker lost the ball as he tried to ground it.
The Knights never fired another shot, and they’re going to have to reassess how they use their marquee man now and in the long term.
“He’s a quality player,” Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler said.
“One of the most dangerous things a player like Kalyn has is time, so we thought we’d cut that down a bit to cut down his effectiveness.”
INJURY CRISIS
O’Brien must have walked under a ladder on his way to McDonald Jones Stadium.
On a night the club was supposed to celebrate 25 years since their famous grand final win over Manly, the mood in Newcastle resembled a wake as injuries, errors and some awful attacking options spoilt the party.
With his side already missing Lachlan Fitzgibbon and David Klemmer through injury, Dom Young (knee) and Jirah Momoisea (dislocated elbow) joined the crowded casualty ward.
And there could be more pain with halfback Adam Clune in serious doubt for next week’s game after he battled through a knee injury for the second half but could hardly put any weight on his left leg.
“I’m not using that as an excuse,” O’Brien said.
NO TURBO, NO WORRIES
You get the feeling this could be two really important competition points for Manly later in the year.
This was a game they were supposed to lose according to the bookies who crunched Newcastle in after Trbojevic was ruled out with a knee injury.
In the past that’d almost mean an automatic loss for Manly, but they showed they can get the job done without their talisman.
Apart from one bizarre kick from inside his own 30, skipper Daly Cherry-Evans had the ball on a string and played behind a strong pack led by Josh Aloiai (122 metres) and Haumole Olakau’atu (113 metres and a try).
“To get out of here with the two points is pretty important for us at this stage,” Des Hasler said.
SIX AGAIN … AGAIN
Just about everyone was in love with the way footy looked in the first four rounds. Almost everyone, but not the people who matter.
They said it was too slow, there was too much wrestle and the star players were suffering. Which is odd, because Ryan Papenhuyzen scored four tries in a pretty quick game last week.
The word ‘crackdown’ is taboo, but we were always going to see plenty of penalties and set restarts on Thursday night.
In the end, 23 were blown but no one was sent to the sin bin.
The Sea Eagles were happy to give away set restarts all night long, but referee Ashley Klein refused to punish them further.
Blowing your whistle and waving your arm in the air is one thing, but officials have to use the sin bin if they want to be taken seriously.
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