Kalyn Ponga has found his voice in good news for Newcastle and Queensland

Kalyn Ponga came out State of Origin with his reputation flying and he is now intent on leading Newcastle to a premiership.

Kalyn Ponga has found his voice for Queensland and NSW (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Andre Ponga called his son Kalyn on Friday afternoon.

“I just said to him literally three hours ago, I don’t say it to you too often, I don’t need to because that is our relationship, but I do need to tell you that I am proud of you and the family is proud,” Andre told Weekend Read.

He then started laughing.

“Then I did the old I will send you a message with what you need to work on,” Andre said.

“He goes, ‘righto, send it to me dad’.”

Andre and the family flew to the Gold Coast on Wednesday to watch Kalyn make his return to Origin. It was a night to remember for Queensland and the Ponga family.

His return coincided with a Maroons victory in which Kalyn starred with a performance that dispelled any notion that he wasn’t invested in Origin.

Ponga looked like a player with a point to prove. He seemed intent on making an impact. That, my friends, is exactly what he did.

“Ponga makes a difference, I am telling you,” Queensland teammate Christian Welch said.

“He is a handy player.”

Also a louder one. Ponga comes across as laid-back, but there has been a change in him in recent months. He is becoming a leader.

His teammates suspect he may also have been inspired by the praise that was being directed towards the fullbacks in the NSW side – James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell.

“He was really vocal during the week in meetings and pre-game,” Welch said.

“Chez (Captain Daly Cherry-Evans) would talk and then he would talk. He has missed a fair bit of footy and with all the other fullbacks in NSW getting the raps, it might have been the (motivation) for him to come out and play how he did.”

Ponga is now 23 and Andre says he is ready to become a louder voice in teams, be it Newcastle or Queensland. He captained sides as a teenager but his Polynesian background means he has deferred to older and more senior colleagues in the NRL and Origin.

That is about to change. Ponga has found his voice.

“When you come from a Polynesian background, you are always taught to respect your elders and mind you Ps and Qs,” Andre said.

“The reality for him – and him and I have spoken about it – he is older and he now realises I have to be that voice.

“He now knows he has the right to speak up and become that voice because it makes a difference. Not being biased, I think that helped on Wednesday.”

Ponga has missed a host of games for the Knights this year through injury. He returned a week before Origin and was outstanding and his performance for Queensland has whetted the appetite of Newcastle fans.

Ponga is able to go to market on November 1 – he has an option in his Knights contact for 2023. Newcastle fans can breathe easy. Andre says he is going nowhere.

“If he is going to win a premiership with anyone, it is with the Knights,” Andre said.

“That is as simple as I can put it.”

Inside the Storm’s latest move

Christian Welch reckons he has had three nights at home in the past three months. “At least my electricity bill won’t be too bad,” he quipped to Weekend Read.

Welch isn’t complaining. He is quick to point out that he is one of the lucky ones, able to keep working and earning a quid while Covid-19 causes mayhem across the globe.

On Wednesday night, Welch was part of the Queensland team that salvaged some pride by winning the final game of the State of Origin series.

He got to bed at about 3am the next morning – any footballer can attest to how hard it is to sleep after a game, particularly one as big as Origin.

He had kept one eye on the Covid numbers in Melbourne but rose the next morning to catch a noon flight back to Melbourne planning to play against Newcastle at AAMI Park on the weekend.

When he arrived back in Melbourne at 2.30pm, there was a text message from Storm head of football Frank Ponissi warning him to be ready to pack up and move again.

“We were pushing to play the game on Saturday night potentially with an empty stadium and then head off on Sunday,” Ponissi said.
“We briefed the whole squad at 12.30pm on zoom. At that stage the chance of moving that afternoon was very slim.

“Then it changed within an hour. We addressed all the families and partners at 2pm and during that call, I got a call for the CEO (Justin Rodski) saying Melbourne is going into lockdown, we have to be out by midnight.
“It was mayhem after that.”

Welch had about three hours at home, unpacked his Origin bag, packed a fresh bag of Storm gear and then headed to AAMI Park for the trip to Queensland.

The team caught a bus at 7.50pm for Essendon Airport and then waited for their charter flight to arrive – it was delayed after taking some of the AFL teams to Queensland.

The AFL got the tip-off before the NRL. They snatched all the charter flights so the Storm had to wait in the queue.

“They couldn’t get a plane for us,” Ponissi said.

“Then it came through that we were leaving at 9.30pm. We got there (to the airport) and it took ages. The plane dropping off one of the AFL teams was delayed going into a headwind.”

By the time the players and their families boarded the plane and it was ready for takeoff, the clock was nudging 11pm. Patience was running thin. Fatigue filled the plane.

Welch’s head eventually hit the pillow about 2am on Friday morning, completing a whirlwind 24 hours for all the Storm players, not just Welch.

“As I will tell anyone, we are so lucky we are able to keep working,” Welch said.
“People in Victoria are going into their fifth lockdown. It was an eventful day but that is the motto – react and get on with it.

“Hopefully the lockdown gets on top of it early. It would be nice to get back to AAMI Park and reward the fans.”

The Storm have been the NRL’s gypsies. They have seemingly been on the move for more than a year now. They have spent more time in Queensland than Victoria over the past 12 months.

Remarkably, they have maintained a standard of excellence that few have been able to match.

“I keep hearing people say it is our third move,” Ponissi said.
“We had the trip going to Albury for two weeks (last year). That kicked it all off. It has been a journey.”

Stop the press: An Englishman stays in Canberra

Canberra haven’t had the best of luck with their English players this season but Elliott Whitehead is s different story.

Weekend Read understands that Whitehead is ready to commit his future to the Raiders by signing a two-year extension to his existing deal.

The England back rower has one year remaining on his existing contract but the Raiders are expected to confirm in coming weeks that he is staying until the end of 2024.

It’s a big coup for the club and coach Ricky Stuart given the commentary that has surrounded the Raiders this season.

Whitehead’s English teammate George Williams was given an early release after complaining of homesickness and hooker Josh Hodgson stepped down from the captaincy amid talk of ructions in the dressing room.

Whispers suggest he could yet leave the club if a rival weighs in with a long-term deal. Whitehead, however, isn’t going anywhere.