Matthew Johns has been working with Kalyn Ponga and Connor Watson as Newcastle gear up for 2018

SUPERSTAR Newcastle signing Kalyn Ponga has been working with club great Matthew Johns over summer as part of an eye-catching preparation for the 2018 NRL season.

New recruits Connor Watson and Kalyn Ponga during Newcastle Knights training in Mayfield. Picture. Phil Hillyard

SUPERSTAR Newcastle signing Kalyn Ponga has been working with club great Matthew Johns over summer as part of an eye-catching preparation for the 2018 NRL season.

Still only 19, Ponga was recently sent to Sydney for training with Johns, The Daily Telegraph columnist and Fox Sports and Triple M regular who doubles as one of rugby league’s sharpest and most sought-after tacticians.

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Also attending the session alongside the rising fullback, who joins Newcastle on a $3 million deal, were emerging halves Connor Watson, Brock Lamb and Jack Cogger.

The decision by Knights coach Nathan Brown to send the quartet to Johns mirrors that of Melbourne premiership rival Craig Bellamy, who earlier this year flew three players — Billy Slater, Cameron Munster and rising halfback Brodie Croft — north for a similar coaching experience.

Johns as previously worked as a skills coach for Melbourne.

In Grand Final week, Storm assistant coach Adam O’Brien revealed how he and the players, who stayed at a hostel near Johns’ northern beaches home, would fly into Sydney on a Wednesday for a field session later that afternoon.

Then it was dinner, bed and up early again for another 7am skills session the following morning.

From there, the group would take an 11am flight to be home in time for a weights session at Storm HQ.

And now the Knights are in, too.

“We went down and did some stuff with Matty, yeah,’’ confirms Watson, the recruited Rooster looking to secure the No. 6 jersey in 2018.

“There was a small group of us did some stuff a few weeks ago — just before Mitchell Pearce signed — which was awesome.

Much of Newcastle’s future will depend on Watson and Ponga.

“Matty was a guy who had such a great career. And when you spend time with him, you can see why.

“Just the way he moves, the way he thinks about the game, his footy smarts ... it’s incredible.”

Asked his thoughts on Ponga, who has already earned rave reviews for his efforts in pre-season training, Watson laughed: “I think we just need to give him the ball then sit back and watch.

“Kalyn is such a special talent.

“Obviously he’s still only young and nowhere near his peak yet. And that makes it exciting to think about what’s to come.

The Knights have high hopes for the exciting Ponga.

“It’s going to be really exciting for fans to watch and, personally, really cool to be part of that development too.”

Ironically, Johns was also instrumental in coaxing Ponga to the Knights.

Back in April, the former Kangaroo confirmed that he had spruiked both the club, and his hometown of Newcastle, in a conversation with Ponga’s father Andre.

“I didn’t speak to Kalyn personally, but I had a good chat with his old man,” Johns said.

“I told him that Newcastle is a great city, it’s a place for families and I also told him that the people of Newcastle would look after Kalyn and get behind him.

“And I have no concerns about Kalyn’s ability to make it in the NRL.

“The Knights had to pay ‘overs’ but the kid will justify it.”

Originally published as Matthew Johns has been working with Kalyn Ponga and Connor Watson as Newcastle gear up for 2018