Mal Meninga won’t shut selection door on Kalyn Ponga after Kangaroos backflip

Kalyn Ponga is still a chance to be called up for the Kangaroos Pacific Test series despite the saga surrounding his initial desire to sit out the games.

Kalyn Ponga remains on Mal Meninga’s radar with the Australian coach declaring “emotion” won’t cloud his Judgement when picking the Kangaroos squad.

Ponga has backflipped on his decision to make himself available for the Australian team after originally announcing he did not want to be considered for the Kangaroos’ Pacific Championships squad.

That move came late on Friday night after pressure was applied from the NRL to the Knights and Ponga.

While publicly the Knights have said on Ponga’s behalf that they understand the rules meaning he must be available, it is understood that privately Ponga would still rather not play for the Kangaroos.

There have been suggestions that part of the reason Ponga does not want to play for Australia is that he was not called by Australian selectors having missed out on the squad last year. This was despite winning the Dally M award and training in preparation to play.

**EMBARGO DON'T USE CONTACT NICOLA AMOROS*** Daily Telegraph. 09, September, 2024. Newcastle Knights, Kalyn Ponga, at the NRL Finals Launch, at Hickson Road Reserve, today. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Despite the ongoing uncertainty, Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said that Ponga would certainly be considered for Australian selection when they name their squad for the Pacific Championships. Ponga’s stocks will rise if Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards is unavailable with a knee issue.

Meninga has spoken openly of his frustrations that he learnt of Ponga’s decision via a media release on Tuesday. However he said the 26-year-old remains in the frame.

“We will sit down with the chairman and four selectors to make that decision on the Monday after the grand final,” Meninga said of Ponga. “The decision won’t be made as a result of this situation.

“It will be made on who is the best available for the Kangaroos at this time. Emotion won’t play a part in it.

“We want to win the Pacific Championships and that’s our focus.”

Ponga backed away from his stance after he was warned that he faced sanctioning by the NRL. There were calls to ban Ponga from the start of next season, the entire Origin series or even from playing for Australia again.

PONGA’S CURIOUSLY WORDED - AND TIMED - KANGAROOS BACKFLIP

Kalyn Ponga has sensationally changed his stance regarding his Australian availability in a curiously worded statement released just minutes into the NRL’s opening preliminary finals match.

For the second time this week Ponga and the Knights have raised eyebrows with the contents of their media release.

This time it lobbed in inboxes at 8.05pm, just minutes after the Storm and Roosters took to the field.

It seemingly suggested that Ponga would make himself available for Kangaroos selection just days after pulling out of the Australian squad.

The NRL has extended their deadline for Kalyn Ponga to change his position after snubbing Mal Meninga and the Kangaroos. Picture: Getty Images

“The Newcastle Knights and club captain Kalyn Ponga understands his responsibilities under his NRL playing contract, NRL rules and the Collective Bargaining Agreement,” the Knights statement read.

“Both parties commit to fulfilling all obligations, including availability to play representative football, subject to the standard health, fitness and mental readiness.”

It comes after the NRL threatened to sanction Ponga and the club. Knights boss Phil Gardner was locked in talks with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo on Friday after Newcastle were granted on extension to reply to the NRL’s request for the parties to backflip.

Originally, the Knights had to reply by 4pm on Thursday, but that deadline was shifted to Friday morning.

It remains to be seen if Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga will pick Ponga after being left frustrated with the way the fullback had handled the past couple of days.

Ponga was threatened with a potential ban to start next season while there were also calls to suspend him from Origin or playing for Australia again.

Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga has landed in hot water. Picture: Getty Images

The mess was not of Newcastle’s doing after Ponga took the club by surprise by ruling himself out of Kangaroos contention.

Newcastle have backed Bradman Best who is on the verge of an Australian debut despite his season plagued by ongoing hamstring problems.

Ponga said he wanted to skip the end of season Pacific Championships in a bid to return to pre-season training at Newcastle and focus on delivering the club a title.

The issue has bubbled away all week.

Newcastle officials spent hours on Thursday locked in discussions with the Ponga camp after the NRL issued a deadline for them to change their stance on representative football or face potential sanctions.

The NRL wrote to the Knights on Wednesday outlining the club and Ponga’s requirements for players to make themselves available for the Kangaroos. The original 4pm Thursday deadline was extended until Friday.

Those close to the Knights believed Ponga’s position was unlikely to change.

The reason the Knights are facing scrutiny is because they publicly backed Ponga after he released a statement explaining why he won’t be playing for the Kangaroos later this year.

The Knights said in a press release that “support the decision that Kalyn has made and will respect his request for no further commentary on this matter”.

The fact that they have publicly supported Ponga for what the NRL are saying is a breaking of the rules is what has led to the club facing potential sanctions.

Newcastle are in a tough spot given their natural desire to back their best player. The Knights also pointed out that they backed Bradman Best’s decision to play for Australia even though he has battled with hamstring problems this season.

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said he was disappointed not only with Ponga’s decision but the fact he first learnt about it via the club’s media statement on Tuesday.

“Through the press release unfortunately,” Meninga said the SEN show he co-hosts with Jimmy Smith. “That’s the first anyone knew about it. I’m assuming including Newcastle. It was done independently. That was my read on it all. I have spoken to Kalyn in confidence. That conversation will stay private.

“The process of Kalyn and his advisers, the protocols around making himself unavailable for whatever reason, the process around how that gets released into the public domain - that has to be cleared up in the future to ensure we don’t have this mess going on in the public eye.

“He wants to devote more time in preparation for club’s success next year. He has a feeling he hasn’t played that many games in recent years. He has an obligation back to the club.

“I don’t think anyone is going to dispute that at all. That’s a reasonable excuse. I have a different view when it comes to the rep scene. My view is I would never turn down an opportunity to play for your country.”

The NRL are considering standing Ponga down from the start of the season. Others have called for Ponga to be rubbed out of Origin or be unable to ever play for the Kangaroos. Newcastle will fight any potential banning of Ponga from club games if the NRL decide to punish the Knights most important player in that fashion.

Meninga said Ponga was medically cleared by the Knights on Monday.

“I think he wants to play for his country but at the moment he feels it’s not on his agenda,” Meninga said. “I don’t even know if the Knights are at fault. There is more investigation to be had.

“Through the license agreements every club has to make a player available for representative football unless they are injured.”

Newcastle were blindsided by Ponga’s decision to pull out of the Kangaroos and were of the belief he continued training after the Knights’ elimination to keep himself for an Australian debut.