‘Kalyn’s not 100 per cent happy’: The Ponga rumour that won’t go away... and it could spell ‘disaster’

The noise around Kalyn Ponga and his future in the NRL won’t go away in the wake of Dylan Brown’s historic contract with the Knights.

The noise around Kalyn Ponga being unsettled at the Knights won’t go away in the wake of Dylan Brown’s historic contract.

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Ponga is contracted at Newcastle until the end of 2027 but has been linked to the Roosters for the past several months.

Plenty of pundits believe the arrival of Brown next season will further unlock Ponga and catapult the Knights into premiership contenders.

But the NRL 360 panel revealed there is a possibility the duo never play together, with Ponga still a chance of leaving the club that made him the highest-paid player in the NRL.

“There are rumours that Kalyn’s not 100 per cent happy, we’re not just making this up. The rumours have been going for a while now,” Braith Anasta said.

“Does Kalyn definitely stay? Is it a possibility he leaves?”

The noise around Kalyn Ponga and his NRL future continues. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

“He’s signed until 2027 so he’s got the rest of this year plus two, that’s all locked away,” James Hooper responded.

“But we have seen over the years that at stages, players do become agitated and they decide they’re not happy with the direction of the club then they may manipulate and find a way to possibly exit early.

“It continues to go around that the Roosters are looking at him. I think the primary reason for that is one of their recruitment officers there, Clint Zammit, has had a huge involvement with Kalyn throughout the course of his career. He did his most-recent deal at Newcastle and made him the highest-paid player in the game.”

Fellow journalist Michael Carayannis wasn’t buying Ponga leaving for a rival NRL club.

“I think Newcastle are more worried about Kalyn going to play rugby union than to a rival NRL club,” he said.

“Internally they’re quite comfortable with their position. But if he does leave, the Dylan Brown signing will be a disaster.”

Originally published as ‘Kalyn’s not 100 per cent happy’: The Ponga rumour that won’t go away... and it could spell ‘disaster’