The family tragedy driving Kalyn Ponga as he plays in his ‘home’ state of WA to save the series for the Maroons

Ahead of a return ‘home’ for State of Origin II, Kalyn Ponga’s father Andre reveals the family tragedy that that became a seminal moment in the Maroons fullback’s developmental years.

It is the unlikely league state that helped spawn an NRL superstar and for all the kilometres travelled, in between tears and tragedy, Kalyn Ponga is still thriving, his spirit unbroken.

Few NRL stars possess West Australian blood but Ponga will come full circle when he returns ‘home’ in a bid to save the series for Queensland in Origin II this Wednesday night in Perth.

Born in Port Hedland, Ponga has not only crossed borders and countries in his rise to Maroon, but also navigated the tragic death of his brother to become a Dally M champion.

There was never any question Ponga was on a rapid conveyor belt to stardom.

Even in his mother’s womb, Kalyn moved quickly.

Kalyn Ponga and the Maroons are facing an uphill battle to draw the series. Picture: QRL

Ponga’s father, Andre, and seven mates had moved from New Zealand to Perth in 1989 to play rugby union in the west before he moved to the Pilbara to capitalise on the state’s mining boom.

When Andre’s wife Adine went into premature labour in the town of Newman, there was no medical help to assist with the delivery, so Kalyn and his mother were rushed to Port Hedland by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Forced to drive to hospital, Andre blew a gasket an hour into the 530km trip and had to borrow another car from a mate, but he made it in time for Kalyn’s arrival. Their journey has been as emotional as it has been action-packed ever since.

“We’ve gone through a lot and Kalyn’s seen a lot,” says Andre, who will join his son in Perth this week for Origin II.

“We were in WA when the Western Reds were around and sure enough we’re going to see the Perth Bears in a few years, so it’s come full circle.

“Funny, I remember playing for Pilbara against Kalgoorlie in a curtain-raiser to a Western Reds game against Newcastle, which is Kalyn’s team now.

“League was quite strong back then in Western Australia, but when Kalyn was only young, we moved to North Queensland to be near my mother-in-law.”

The newspaper cutting of the birth of Kalyn to Adine and Andre Ponga. Picture: North West Telegraph

Ponga was a toddler when he left Western Australia, but at the age of seven, Andre reflects on a tragedy in September 2005 that became a seminal moment in the Maroons fullback’s developmental years.

The family had settled in the North Queensland mining town of Mt Isa. Andre helped organise a football clinic to build community spirit, but the event took a tragic turn when Ponga’s younger brother, 18-month-old Kacey Jon, went missing on the day. An urgent search began. He was found in a sewer manhole drain.

Revived by CPR, Kacey was taken by Royal Flying Doctors to Townsville hospital. Seven days later, the Ponga family made the agonising call to switch off his life support.

Kacey Jon Ponga's gravesite in New Zealand, where Ponga and his family held a service on what would have been Kacey's 21st birthday. Photo: Supplied

“Losing Kacey was pretty dark, very dark for all of us,” Andre says.

“Things were very dark for a few years.

“It was just an accident. I had volunteered to help with doing something for the Mt Isa community.

“We were doing something good in having a footy muster where all kids came along to learn footy.

“We organised this footy carnival with the Queensland Reds. There was league in the town but not really rugby and we were Kiwi boys, so we thought we would do something for the community.

“It (Kacey’s passing) happened at that event.

“Unfortunately, the lid wasn’t on the manhole properly.

“I always wondered why for a few years, but at the end of the day, we still had Kalyn to focus on.”

Mourning the tragedy, the Ponga family returned to New Zealand for five years to be closer to family. In March this year, Andre, Adine and relatives attended Kacey’s gravesite on the day of what would have been his 21st birthday.

Kalyn with his father Andre and sister Kayley. Picture: Instagram

Kalyn, who was due to play for the Knights in Sydney, watched on via Facetime.

“To this day, we acknowledge Kacey and he is still part of our family,” Andre says.

“It would have been his 21st birthday in March, so we went back to New Zealand to visit his grave.

“I’m proud of Kalyn for how he has coped. We never shunned away from the topic. We make our kids aware of everything. We didn’t hide anything.

“I think Kalyn understood what happened but the emotion wasn’t as strong because he was only a seven-year-old when it happened.

“Even now, he is pretty good with it. We always have a birthday cake every year and celebrate Kacey.

“Kalyn is very mature in how he handles it.

“That’s why we are so close and why the family relies on each other because of what happened 21 years ago.

“We have moved on as best we can.”

When Ponga runs out in Origin II, he will have Kacey’s spirit with him. And there is a tangible sibling love. On his inner left ankle, Ponga has a tattoo of a bumblebee, a traditional New Zealand wooden toy which Kalyn says was his brother’s favourite.

Ponga was a prodigious talent from a young age. Picture: Lee Constable/Daily Mercury

“Probably what happened to my brother, that was the hardest thing in my life,” Ponga told this masthead in March as he reflected on Remembrance Day for Kacey.

“It shaped our family as a whole. When things like that happen, you build a stronger bond.

“I want to go out there and make Kacey proud and my dad proud. He looks over us and looks after us.”

Perhaps it explains why Ponga cherishes the Queensland jumper.

It was the family’s return to the Sunshine State in 2010, just before his 13th birthday which qualified Ponga for Queensland under State of Origin’s eligibility rules, which paved the path to NRL stardom.

Ponga arriving in Perth on Friday with his Maroons teammates crystallised his family’s long-winding and inspirational journey.

“We chose to move to Mackay because we didn’t want to go back to Mt Isa where we lost the young fella,” Andre says.

“Kalyn actually played soccer and was the New Zealand under-13s golf champion, but when we went to Mackay, all the local kids there played league, so Kalyn did the same.

“We didn’t think Kalyn would ever be a league boy, but luckily moving to Mackay when we did made him eligible for Queensland.

“The rest is history. Kalyn is a Queenslander now.”