‘It’s not a good look’: Why Adam O’Brien won’t rush into any calls on Kalyn Ponga’s playing future

Everyone seems to have an opinion on Kalyn Ponga’s future in the game, but Adam O’Brien says he’ll only listen to the medical experts.

Adam O’Brien won’t be rushed into making a decision on whether to move Kalyn Ponga to fullback for his own safety. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Adam O’Brien says he has concerns over Kalyn Ponga’s long-term future and can understand why people want his star player to return to fullback, but the Knights coach says he’ll leave it to the medical experts before he comments further.

Ponga suffered his fourth concussion in the past 10 months while trying to make a tackle in the second minute of last week’s gritty win over the Wests Tigers.

Kalyn Ponga won’t play this weekend and his return date is unclear after he was concussed while making a tackle against the Tigers. Picture; Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

It’s the latest in a string of head knocks that ultimately ended his 2022 season prematurely when the Knights decided to take a safety first approach with their most important player.

O’Brien said Ponga and his family were “in good spirits” and he wanted to let Professor Chris Levi handle it before he made any calls on when his five-eighth might return.

There has been a push from some of the leading voices in the game to move Ponga back to fullback for his own safety, but as O’Brien pointed out, this was his first concussion defending in the front line after several head knocks at the back last year.

It’s why he’s resultant to make any positional decisions right now, although he was quick to praise the NRL for introducing a mandatory 11-day stand-down policy for concussed players.

“I completely understand where people are coming from. Ultimately, everyone wants Kalyn in the game, and everyone wants to take care of this guy,” O’Brien replied when asked about moving Ponga to fullback.

“He’s got a lot of life to lead yet, so that’s first and foremost. But there are a number of conversations that will need to be had, but we’re nowhere near that point yet.”

There are calls for Ponga to return to fullback to protect himself from the front line, but his coach says it’s too early to make that call. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The Knights coach was also asked whether he feared for Ponga’s long-term health after his latest head knock.

“Of course, I’m a human being. I’m not just talking about his footy future,” he said.

“It’s not a good look what you saw on the weekend, but there are a number of things to be talked about. That’s his first one in the front line – the concussions he had last year were at fullback.

“It’s in the hands of someone that’s way smarter than me. Until we get to that, there’s no point commenting any further.”

The Knights have been forced to make a number of changes with several stars missing, including Jacob Saifiti who has been suspended for five games. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The Knights have been forced into several major changes, with Jayden Brailey (concussion), Jacob Saifiti (suspension) and Tyson Frizell (foot) joining Ponga on the sidelines for Friday’s home game against the unbeaten Dolphins.

“I’m getting pretty used to it over the past few years in terms of missing personnel,” O’Brien said.