NRL 2023: New Zealand Warriors win 20-12 over Newcastle Knights, Kalyn Ponga HIA

An irate Kalyn Ponga was forced to leave the field for a controversial HIA on Friday night, David Riccio explains why fans should expect it to happen again.

Kalyn Ponga was furious after being forced off the field by the independent doctor for a HIA. Picture: Getty Images.

Kalyn Ponga missed the final 12-minutes of a game.

The NRL have a duty of care to protect the superstar for the rest of his life.

Ponga is filthy, and so too is Knights coach Adam O’Brien, that the five-eighth was ordered from the field in the closing stages against the Warriors on Friday night by the NRL’s independent doctor, who despite suggestions otherwise, was located at Sky Stadium at Wellington.

Okay, the incident wasn’t one that saw Ponga knocked out or stumbling on his feet.

His head collected heavily with the hip of Warriors prop Addin Fonua-Blake, jolting his neck and head back into the turf.

Ponga pulled himself to his feet and played-on before soon being booked by the independent doctor.

It’s important to understand that the independent Doctor’s job is to look for “signs” of concussion, not “symptoms.’’

Anyone with a vested interest in protecting the welfare of a player, like an independent Doctor, would rather be accused of overcalling a situation, than under-calling it.

So here’s a tip not just for Newcastle, but the rest of the game; You better start getting used to it, this is just the beginning.

The game won’t be apologising for overstepping the mark when it comes to protecting the health of players from head knocks and concussion.

Not only is the game’s livelihood at stake, from grassroots to sponsorship dollars, but what will come next is multimillion-dollar lawsuits, like the US$765m ($1,1bn) settlement deal the NFL undertook 10-years ago with former players.

PONGA FURIOUS OVER HIA DRAMA AS PRESSURE BUILDS ON KNIGHTS

– Martin Gabor

An irate Kalyn Ponga almost had to be dragged from the field after being forced off by the independent doctor for an HIA as Newcastle blew some late chances with him in the sheds to go down 20-12 in New Zealand.

Ponga has had serious concussion issues, suffering three head knocks in six weeks last year which ultimately ended his season prematurely, and that may have influenced the independent doctor who ordered him from the field with 12 minutes left.

The Knights skipper stayed down for a few seconds after colliding with big man Addin Fonua-Blake, and that was enough to raise alarm bells with the referee telling Ponga that he had to go off.

Ponga was furious with the decision and tried to stay on for a few seconds before he accepted his fate to go for an HIA in the tunnel.

“It will be interesting to see their take on it,” a bemused Ponga said after the game.

“I’ve been knocked out before and I definitely wasn’t in any state. I couldn’t believe it. Ten minutes to go with the game on the line, and I’m literally fine.

“I think there’s an assessment that usually happens, but I got taken off by an independent doctor, I think.

“I said to the ref ‘I’m not going off’ but it’s not his call. It’s someone in a box.”

The Knights desperately missed him in attack, with Wayde Egan diving over at the other end with six minutes to go to seal the win for the Warriors.

Ponga will be assessed in the coming days, while there’s more concern for Tyson Frizell who was ruled out in the first half after getting his head in the wrong place while making a tackle.

Kalyn Ponga was furious after being forced off the field by the independent doctor for a HIA. Picture: Getty Images.

“I’m in no place to answer it because I have no idea who, why or how it happened,” coach Adam O’Brien said when asked to explain the HIA call.

“Wherever the bunker is – whether it’s in Sydney or wherever it is, you’ll have to fact check this because I don’t know – (the doctor) bumped it to a category two which meant he came straight from the field and couldn’t do an assessment out on the field.

“He’s unaware of any incident, and like he says, he knows what they feel like. He’s worked really hard to get back in the game, and now we’re jumping at shadows to get him out of the game.

“I don’t get it.”

KP TICKS OFF SOME KPI's

The rest of the attack needs some tinkering, but O’Brien must be happy with parts of the Ponga experiment after the Knights skipper looked comfortable in his shift to five-eighth.

The attacking woes from last year are still there but the signs were a bit more encouraging across the ditch, with their former fullback’s fingerprints all over some exciting set plays.

Ponga only managed seven try assists last year but had two on Friday night, laying on the first four-pointer for Lachlan Fitzgibbon with a nice short ball before his quick hands set up Hymel Hunt in the corner.

He was reluctant to run the ball in the first half but took the line on more as the game opened up, nearly scoring in the second half only to be held up over the line.

The big challenge for the new No. 6 was defensively and he passed most of his tests, belting Marata Niukore early and then combining with Lachie Miller to hold the former Eel up over the line.

While Ponga looked good, the rest of the squad struggled to produce anything in attack with Lachie Miller failing to inject himself into set plays, while strike weapons Dom Young and Bradman Best were barely sighted.

“It was different for me, playing six,” Ponga said.

“There are a lot of good signs for our first game as a spine together.

“It’s only going to get better.”

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad impressed in his first game back at the Warriors, scoring a try as his side started 2023 off with a bang. Picture: Getty Images.

TAKE A CHARNZE ON ME

It’s a good thing the Warriors decided to blow up their roster after they narrowly avoided the wooden spoon last year.

Andrew Webster has come in as coach and he’s assembled a new roster that should have them closer to the top eight than the foot of the ladder.

There are new faces galore and they all stood tall in front of a big crowd who would have loved what they saw from veterans Tohu Harris and Shaun Johnson.

Jackson Ford and Marata Niukore provided plenty of starch in the back row, Dylan Walker added some speed around the ruck, while the Raiders will be wishing they still had Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

The Warriors fullback produced the goods in defence to deny Ponga, ran for 160 metres and backed up a break to put his side in front in the second half to cap a dream return to the club.

“I’m proud of the boys,” Webster said.

“Charnze is a competitor for 80 minutes. If you look at his game, it was outstanding.”