Revealed: The truth behind Kalyn Ponga’s sighting at Warriors sports bar
The Knights continue to face a question that will never go away, as star fullback Kalyn Ponga was spotted chatting with the Warriors recruitment boss at a bar in Auckland owned by the club.
A leaked photo of NRL star Kalyn Ponga chatting with Warriors general manager of recruitment Andrew McFadden found its way into your columnists inbox this week.
Adding to the intrigue over the weekly speculation of Ponga’s future at the Knights is that the picture was taken last weekend inside the slick sports bar which the Warriors own and operate, Full Time Sports Bar and Eatery, in Auckland.
On face value, it’s a back page scoop that suggests the Knights star and one of the biggest names in the game is in talks with a rival club.
The fact that it was taken in New Zealand, where the 2023 Dally M winner was raised between the ages of eight and 13, and the fact that the Warriors could have a fullback vacancy once Roger Tuivasa-Sheck finishes at the end of 2026, only fuels the mouths of conspiracy theorists.
However, the truth of the story is that Ponga was in the bar for a speaking engagement with former Warriors forward Sione Faumuina at the same time that McFadden was enjoying a few off-season bets on Derby Day last Saturday.
Faumuina was able to attract Ponga – and his influential father Andre – to Auckland for his Legacy Lounge Live Show concept, where fans turn-up to listen to famous sporting icons.
Cheekily and quite cleverly, Faumuina even asked Ponga during the onstage interview if playing for the Maori All Stars evoked his passion and heritage for New Zealand, to the point of which he would want to join the Warriors?
Ponga conceded he did grow-up watching the Warriors, but for some comfort for Knights fans, he simply laughed off any link to the ‘Wahs’.
However, there’s also an element of reality in the question from Faumuina.
For one reason or another, including the Knights lack of success and so too Ponga’s insane ability as a footballer, the 27-year-old has spent every season over the past few seasons being asked about his future despite being contracted to Newcastle until the end of 2027.
Last Saturday was no different. Someone had to ask him the question.
The questions will keep coming too. Pick up the phone to rival clubs or player agents and when the discussion shifts to fullbacks, it’s Ponga’s name that routinely falls into the conversation.
It’s an interesting situation for the Knights too.
In 2026, for the first time in a long time, they may not be as reliant upon Ponga single-handedly carrying the team, like he has in years gone by.
With Dylan Brown arriving from Parramatta to play five-eighth, Sandon Smith moving from the Roosters with an ambition to be a long-term halfback and with Ponga the first-choice fullback, where does rising star Fletcher Sharpe, who finished the season at five-eighth, play?
It’s about to become the next big question that won’t go away.
TEN BOSS KEEN TO TACKLE NRL RIGHTS
Cue flashbacks of Rex Mossop, Graeme Hughes and Ian Maurice hosting the State Bank Big Game on Channel 10.
It might be a stretch to say that we’re about to see Channel 10 enter the negotiation table with the NRL to broadcast rugby league for the first time since 1991.
But these were certainly some interesting comments made by Ten’s president Beverley McGarvey this week.
At the launch event for their 2026 free-to-air offerings on Ten and streaming service Paramount, McGarvey was asked by media and marketing publication, Mumbrella, about the network’s interest in the NRL’s available broadcast rights in 2028, and whether the complexity of also showcasing the popular Formula One’s in March in Melbourne would prove problematic each year?
“Well, yes and no. The F1’s incredible and it is a global phenomenon. But, there’s more volume in NRL and the NRL is great and they’ve had a great year … the code’s been really great this year, and it’s done really good numbers,” McGarvey said.
“So honestly, you know, if Santa could give me it, you’d take both, obviously. But I don’t know that that’s a problem we’re gonna have to suffer through.”
McGarvey was then asked if she’d had progressed conversations about chasing the NRL; “We will certainly have those conversations. We look at every available rights and especially local ones.
“We look at them tactically. It’s a good time for us to start thinking about what that might look like for everyone.”
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Originally published as Revealed: The truth behind Kalyn Ponga’s sighting at Warriors sports bar
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