NRL 2020: Kalyn Ponga to miss Newcastle Knights’ clash with Roosters
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys and new NRL CEO Andrew Abdo have vowed to take action to protect its marquee players, with doctors concerned about the long-term health of Kalyn Ponga after repeated ‘targeted’ head knocks.
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Newcastle medical officer Ameer Ibrahim has revealed his increasing concerns over superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga being “bashed”, “attacked” and “hit high regularly” by opposition players.
Ibrahim’s comments have led ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and new NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo to declare war on players illegally targeting Ponga.
The Daily Telegraph can also reveal Ibrahim was forced to urgently mend Ponga’s badly broken nose to avoid surgery in the Knights dressing room immediately after Friday night’s win over Cronulla.
“I do not like when a player is singled out because he is a star player,” V’landys said.
Abdo added: “If we believe he (Ponga) is being targeted against the rules then we will find ways to take action and better protect players.”
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The Daily Telegraph revealed Ponga may be rested from this Saturday night’s big match against Sydney Roosters after copping multiple head whacks this season.
Ibrahim - the former Sydney Roosters chief medical officer who helped Cooper Cronk play in the 2018 grand final with a broken scapula - responded that he had “never seen a player get his head attacked more often than KP”.
Ibrahim added: “It seems more often than not his head is being attacked. Kalyn certainly seems to get hit high regularly.
“Most of the time he’s not concussed or dazed in any way but it’s just more his face getting bashed – whether he’s in the air or on the ground. Certainly long-term issues are hard to quantify but (there) would be a concern down the track.
“On Friday night, I had to reduce his nose in the dressing room, which was broken. I had to straighten it. It continued to bleed and when noses are crooked you’ve got a small window of opportunity to straighten them without having to have major surgery.
“Certainly some of the tackling looks lazy around him. They (defenders) stick their arms up high. I also get concerned when he goes for a high ball and gets knocked while in the air. It’s hard to protect yourself in the air going for the ball.”
The NRL knows Ponga cannot be bashed out of rugby league.
“Player protection for me is paramount, especially for marquee players, who are singled-out, no doubt about that. It’s high on our list of reviews moving forward,” V’landys said.
The NRL beefed up penalties for cheap shots last year although Ponga’s battered face proves he is still being whacked high.
“Kalyn Ponga is a superstar in our game and he represents a different type of player, a different type of athlete. He has been incredibly successful, he’s an unbelievable player,” said Abdo
“If we believe he is being targeted against the rules then we will find ways to take action and better protect players. We won’t make any excuses for putting player safety at the forefront of what we do.
“Our game is evolving. It’s becoming faster so the different types of players we have in the game are incredibly important.
“It’s a complex issue but if players are breaking the rules then we will take action. Our game is uncompromising, incredibly competitive and is massively physical but, ultimately, it also needs to be done in a way that thinks about player safety.
“Kalyn is a good example but the point we want to make more generically is the game is better for having all types of players. We won’t make any apologies for match officials making decisions that protect player safety.”
Ibrahim plans to raise Ponga’s on-field treatment with the NRL later this season.
“Every year, at the end of the season, the chief medical officers of each club, and the NRL chief medical officer, get together for one-day powwow and we discuss all things football and medical,” he said. “That’s probably the appropriate forum to bring it up and I will bring it up then.”
Knights coach Adam O’Brien’s also harbours concern over the amount of head knocks Ponga has sustained, saying: “They are always getting him around the head but he doesn’t whinge and he hasn’t come to me once complaining. I admire him.”
O’Brien will make a final decision about Ponga on Tuesday before Newcastle’s team is announced.
WHY DOES STAR GET SO MANY ‘WHACKS AROUND THE HEAD’?
With a battered nose and black eyes, a “banged up” Kalyn Ponga is set to be rested for Newcastle’s big match against Sydney Roosters on Saturday night.
It comes as Knights coach Adam O’Brien admitted Ponga had been the victim of multiple “whacks around the head” this season.
“Certainly I don’t think it’s a great look given who he is in the game and the amount of kids he draws to our game. I’m sure he doesn’t enjoy it but he doesn’t complain about it,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien also stressed opposition sides “get stuck into him” and give Ponga “extra treatment on the ground.”
The Newcastle coach has spoken to his champion player about taking a week’s rest before the looming finals just days after he was clobbered by Sharks halfback Chad Townsend, who was sent off and suspended for three-games for shoulder charging Ponga.
The likely decision to rest Ponga will rob the NRL of a dream individual battle between Ponga and Roosters champion, James Tedesco. O’Brien may also look to rest other Newcastle players from the Roosters game.
“Kalyn was a bit banged up. I saw him at recovery with the nose and the eyes were starting to blacken,” O’Brien said. “My gut feeling is probably more to rest him. I’m leaning toward giving him a spell and having the weekend (off). He has been going at it for a while. This time of the year, it’s all about feeling good.
“We’re going down there (against the Roosters) to compete, definitely, so I’m not going to completely decimate the side but no-one is going to remember us for round 18. We need to play the long game with this one.
“I have always toyed with the idea of resting him at about round 18. I reckon they need a break at some stage. I don’t think we can do it too close to the finals if we’re lucky enough to get there.
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“Whether it’s the Roosters, that’s irrelevant. It’s probably more about the timing. I haven’t made a full decision. I have given them a couple of days off. Whether we rest at training and then play, I haven’t made that full decision.”
O’Brien said Ponga – who delivered a remarkable performance against the Sharks - had been targeted yet never “complained.”
“To his credit, he is so tough. The thing I like about him too is that he gets up. He doesn’t lie down,” he said. “I’ve cut all the vision today, the amount whacks around the head he gets – some unintentional – it’s because of his athleticism, it just catches guys out and they just throw an arm out to try and stop him.
“They are always getting him around the head but he doesn’t whinge and he hasn’t come to me once complaining. I admire him. He is talented and gets a lot of wraps for that but, mate, he is tough, and that’s what I like.”
Asked if he was concerned about the amount of head shots Ponga cops, O’Brien said: “The ones from Friday night weren’t concussion hits. They were whacks around the face and stuff like that. Certainly I don’t think it’s a great look given who he is in the game and the amount of kids he draws to our game. I don’t know if it’s a great look for him.
“He gets extra treatment a little bit on the ground which isn’t full contact, it’s just getting stuck into him. Clearly he is in everyone’s game plans each week. But we’re not on our own here – Billy (Slater) had to go through it, Teddy (James Tedesco) has to go through it. It seems that all the good fullbacks cop that extra treatment.
“If they are targeting you and getting stuck in then it means a big impact on the game. I guess you could look at it that way.
“I’ve given him time off until Tuesday. He has some Fox Sports promos to do (on Monday). I think he would want to play, well I know he would want to play but I want to spend some time with the (high) performance staff (on Monday) and have a look at total loads over a season.”