The secret behind Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga’s new fitness focus | Weekend Read

Kalyn Ponga caught everyone’s attention last season with a run of form that led the Knights to the finals and him to a Dally M, now he’s turning heads for a different reason. SEE THE PHOTOS.

Kalyn Ponga has been swapping recipes with his teammates. Checking the labels on food as well. Where once he looked forward to dessert, moderation is now the buzzword.

Personal goals have been sacrificed as well in deference to the team. Ponga could win another Dally M Medal and another after that but it wouldn’t satisfy his thirst for success.

Ask him, and he would give them all away for a ring.

“It is always about the team,” Ponga said.

“No personal accolade will ever outdo the team, I would rather win one premiership than 10 Dally Ms.

“I can’t do what I do on the field without the team, without the staff, without everyone involved. Every year I set goals and there are a couple of personal ones in there but it is always about the team.”

A ripped Kalyn Ponga. Picture: Newcastle Knights

Ponga and the Knights are coming off a year where they made everyone in the competition sit up and take notice.

They were written off early but rebounded to play finals football and ignite a city that rides every wave with its rugby league side.

No one was more influential than the bloke in the No.1 jersey, who seemingly carries the hopes of Newcastle on his shoulders.

It was a burden that no doubt weighed on him at times but he now seems to carry it with ease, his perspective no doubt sharpened by the travails of the past year.

Newcastle insiders privately say his leadership has gone up another cog this off-season.

The changes to his diet are symbolic of a someone who has found his groove and realised that he is a barometer for his teammates.

“I have grown up a little bit,” he said.

Kalyn Ponga has worked hard in the off-season as he eyes an elusive premiership. Picture: Newcastle Knights.

“It’s not only myself – a lot of the boys have worked hard this off-season. As a group I reckon we are in that mind frame that we are still hungry.

“I am just doing my part in that – and taking a little bit more care of myself. I guess when you are younger, you don’t care (as much) – I used to eat a fair bit of dessert.

“Now I am just enjoying that side of being a professional athlete. I find it quite interesting knowing what I am eating, just looking at packets. “It is easy to do that stuff when you have others keeping you accountable. We have a group chat that we send each other meals in to make sure they are all eating healthy.

“Just little things like that. There’s only about five or six of us – it is only a small group but between us, the older boys are definitely mindful of what they eat.”

The results are plain to see. Ponga looks even more shredded than last season, when he overcame concussion concerns to win the most prestigious individual honour in the game.

A glimpse of his own sporting mortality gave him a deeper appreciation for what he has and what the city of Newcastle has given him.

“We have seen what success looks like in Newcastle now, we have seen what we give we get back times 10,” Ponga said.

“Now that we know that feeling, I think that is what we are chasing. We used to probably run away from the losses, now we are embracing the wins.

“It is just a mindset in this group. It is one of the happier, more enjoyable years I have had at the Knights and in my footy career to be honest.

“I want to keep that feeling going. After I got through all my concussion stuff, just how easy everything was, my performances on the field were fun.

Kalyn Ponga admits he didn’t focus on diet when he was younger.

“I don’t want to say anything too outlandish. Our aim is to go a few steps further than we did last year – I think it is realistic for this group.

“But there is a lot of hard work to go in before that. I I know what we want to do, I know we want to win, but there is a lot of work before we get that done.”

KNIGHTS TO UNLEASH ENGLAND’S ANSWER TO SBW

Newcastle are ready to unleash the English Sonny Bill Williams in Fiji on Saturday and even Kalyn Ponga is excited.

Kai Pearce-Paul joined the Knights in the offseason from Super League giants Wigan but a foot injury delayed his debut for the club.

That day has now arrived as the towering edge back rower - whose ball skills have drawn comparisons with Bulldogs and New Zealand legend Williams - prepares to make his bow against Melbourne in the club’s final preseason trial in Fiji.

“I am excited to see him play,” Ponga said.

“He is very talented. Coming over from England, he will probably take a little while to find his feet in the NRL.

Kai Pearce-Paul playing for Wigan in the UK. Picture: Copley/Getty Images

“In terms of what he has done for us over the preseason, yeah he has been pretty good. Obviously he is filling the role of Fitzy (Lachlan Fitzgibbon) - that was big hole for us, losing him.

“But I am pretty excited to watch him go.”

The Knights fended off interest from rival NRL clubs to land the 23-year-old, who stands nearly two metres and can also play centre.

He played 61 times for Wigan and made three appearances for England before being snapped up by former Newcastle recruitment boss Clint Zammit.

“He is physically got it all,” Ponga said.

“He is big, he is tall. Again, he has been pretty good for us in the preseason. He works hard, he is excited to be part of the Knights.

“This trial, I know he is excited for it. Hopefully he can learn a lot out of this trial and take it into the season.”

NRL’S CHANCE TO CAPTURE FIJI’S FUTURE STARS

The Melbourne Storm have spent the past few days in Fiji winning friends and selling the game to the locals. Now, they want the NRL to help out.

The Pacific is ripe for the picking where talent is concerned. Rugby union is dying on the vine in Australia and while it isn’t on its last legs in the Pacific, there is an opportunity of rugby league to capitalise.

The Storm – and Newcastle – have done their bit this week to capture the hearts and minds of Fiji‘s future stars. The challenge is now for the NRL to pick up the baton and run with it.

Only days ago, head office announced a surplus of nearly $60 million and they need to feed the clubs and the states, who provide the bulk of players to the premiership.

Their focus is squarely on America at the moment in the lead-up to Las Vegas but they also need to cast their eyes across the Pacific and help fund rugby league and its grassroots in the nations that provide so much of their talent.

Not just Fiji, but also Samoa and Tonga. They have been fertile breeding grounds for rugby league players while operating on the smell of an oily rag.

Imagine if some real momentum was sent their way. Storm head of football Frank Ponissi, one of the game’s most respected figures, can see the potential and has urged the NRL to devote more resources to the Pacific region.

“If they could set up an under 18 academy with ex-pats that retire, run a coaching program through the year culminating in a Pacific under 18 championships every year, I think it is a way they can keep the young Pasifika players in their country,” Ponissi said.

Storm head of football Frank Ponissi has urged the NRL to devote more resources to the Pacific region. Picture: Getty Images

“A lot of young players leave here to go to Auckland private schools to play rugby. It would open opportunities to be picked up by NRL clubs and at the same time it also helps the respective national teams here.

“I think there it’s a real opportunity and I don’t think it is an enormous investment. You have to set up academies with the right facilities and right people.

“I don’t think we need anything revolutionary to make a huge difference, You have to have that pathway and give them something to aspire to. The talent is immense here but it just needs nurturing.

“The other thing we have to remember is the people at the top for the game say we are going to go to 20 teams. So we have to grow. This is another way of helping that by developing more players.”

Originally published as The secret behind Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga’s new fitness focus | Weekend Read