Why Kalyn Ponga chose Australia and State of Origin over New Zealand

FIND out why Kalyn Ponga, the most talented youngster in rugby league, chose to represent Australia and Queensland instead of New Zealand.

Queensland Emerging Origin camp on the Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast. Pictured is Kalyn Ponga from the Newcastle Knights Picture AAPimage/David Clark

NEWCASTLE dynamo Kalyn Ponga sought acceptance from his extended Kiwi family before pledging his allegiance to Queensland and Australia.

Ponga donned the maroon colours of Queensland for the first time on Saturday as one of 11 players in the 2018 Emerging Origin squad.

The 19-year-old was the centre of a representative tug of war for two years as Australia and New Zealand jostled for one of the NRL’s hottest teenage talents.

Ponga attended Queensland’s under-20s emerging camp in 2016 before withdrawing from representative team selection for two years as he pondered his future.

He informed Maroons coach Kevin Walters of his decision last year and was immediately included in Queensland’s senior development camp.

“I’ve always felt comfortable at heart here in Australia. I was born here and did my schooling here,” Ponga said.

“To be honest it wasn’t really that tough. I knew at heart that I wanted to pledge my allegiance to Queensland and Australia.

Ponga has joined the Emerging Maroons camp on the Gold Coast.

“My family, which is very important to me, didn’t find it tough but I had to get their acceptance and I did that.

“Now that I’ve made my allegiance clear, I am happy with it. It wasn’t too hard really.

“I’ve got a very big family. My dad (Andre) has got eight brothers. I said to them that I wanted to pledge my allegiance to Australia and Queensland and they were supportive which was awesome. It made it easier for me.”

Ponga joined Knights teammate Tautau Moga in the camp at Royal Pines along with Melbourne Storm duo Christian Welch and Felise Kaufusi.

The Titans provided three players in Ashley Taylor, Jai Arrow and Brenko Lee while Cowboys premiership duo Ethan Lowe and Kyle Feldt were back for another camp.

Manly’s Lloyd Perrett and Parramatta’s Corey Norman made the trip from Sydney for the three-day camp.

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Ponga is approaching the most important season of his young NRL career after signing a rich four-year deal with the Knights, wooden spooners for the past three seasons.

He played nine NRL games for North Queensland across two seasons, leaving the club on bad terms after his father claimed the Cowboys were neglecting his welfare by refusing to release him to the Knights a year early.

Despite the controversy, Ponga said he felt the Cowboys gave him every opportunity to grow last year.

“I enjoyed my footy,” he said.

“I was lucky and fortunate to play a few games early in the season. When I got the opportunity I tried to take it with both hands.

“I didn’t feel held back. I played seven games last year and was more than happy. I felt like they gave me a great opportunity to play.

The camp has a proven track record of producing future Origin greats.

“I’m loving life down there (Newcastle). I’m training hard and getting ready for round one.

“I’m not too fazed by people saying I made a bad decision. I’m happy down there.”

Ponga was one of a host of big name signings for the Knights, including NSW Origin halfback Mitchell Pearce.

He is in line to wear the No. 1 jersey at Newcastle and new Maroons assistant coach Josh Hannay said this was Ponga’s opportunity to cement himself as a regular NRL player.

“He’s going to get an opportunity at Newcastle to play week-in, week-out,” the Cowboys assistant said.

“It’s up to him to make sure he is preparing really well every week and working hard to be a regular first grader in the NRL.

“We’ve all seen the talent. It’s well known how talented he is.

“Now given the opportunity to be a regular NRL player, it’s up to him to make sure he works really hard and gets the most out of that talent he’s got.”

Originally published as Why Kalyn Ponga chose Australia and State of Origin over New Zealand