Kalyn Ponga

Kalyn Ponga (born 30 March 1998) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. His positions are fullback and five-eighth, but he can also play on the wing.

Kalyn Ponga
Personal information
Born (1998-03-30) 30 March 1998
Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight92 kg (14 st 7 lb)
Playing information
PositionFullback, Five-eighth, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 North Qld Cowboys 9 3 0 0 12
2018– Newcastle Knights 45 20 95 0 270
Total 54 23 95 0 282
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018–19 Queensland 3 0 4 0 8
2018–19 Māori All Stars 2 0 0 0 0
2019 Australia 9s 5 1 0 0 5
As of 20 October 2019
Source: [1][2]

He played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League, New Zealand Māori at international level, and has played for Queensland in the State of Origin series.

Background

Ponga was born in Port Hedland, Western Australia to New Zealand-born parents, and is of Māori descent by way of his father's ancestry.[3] He spent an early portion of his life in Newman, Western Australia before moving to Mount Isa, Queensland at the age of 2.[4] In 2006, at the age of 8, he relocated with his family to Palmerston North, New Zealand and spent five years there, where he played a number of sports; including rugby league, touch football, hockey, rugby union, golf and soccer. In 2010, he won New Zealand's under-13 national golf championship.[5]

In 2011, at the age of 13, Ponga and his family returned to Queensland, settling in Mackay. He attended Mackay State High School and was a member of the Rugby League Academy program, as well as playing junior rugby league for Souths Mackay. Also in 2011, he was signed to a scholarship with the Central Queensland NRL bid side. In 2012, he was selected for the Australian Schoolboys under-15 side, becoming just the second 14-year-old to make the side.[5]

In 2013, Ponga, then a scholarship holder with the Brisbane Broncos, moved to Brisbane. He attended Anglican Church Grammar School and competed for their rugby union side in the prestigious GPS competition,[6] while also playing rugby league for the Easts Tigers in the Cyril Connell Cup. That year he made the Australian Schoolboys under-15 side for the second consecutive year.[7][8] While in Brisbane, Ponga also began playing Australian rules football and was placed in the Brisbane Lions Talent Academy after being spotted at a representative Rugby league match where he was considered an outstanding prospect.[9]

In December 2013, then 15-year-old Ponga signed a four-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys.[10] He was pursued by six professional clubs from across three different sports, turning down the Broncos, Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters, Queensland Reds and Brisbane Lions to sign with the Townsville-based NRL club.[5][11] The Lions continued to pursue Ponga after he committed to the Cowboys[12] and it was later revealed he was one month away from sensationally converting to Australian rules football and signing a four-year contract with the Lions in the latter half of 2016.[13][14]

Playing career

2015

Ponga moved to Townsville where he attended Ignatius Park College, played for the Townsville Stingers in the Mal Meninga Cup. Later on the year Ponga represented Australia in the under 18s touch football at the 2015 Youth Trans Tasman series.[15] In January, he was a member of the QAS Emerging under-18 Origin squad.[16] In August, he made his NYC debut for the Cowboys, coming off the bench in his side's 50-6 victory over the Parramatta Eels in Round 20. It was later revealed that he had missed five months of the season fighting a life-threatening brain infection.[17] He finished the year as the Cowboys' starting fullback, scoring 8 tries in 8 games. In October, he was invited to train with the New Zealand national team in preparation for their tour of Great Britain. In November, he joined the Cowboys' 2016 first grade squad for pre-season training.[18]

2016

In January, Ponga was selected in the QAS under-20s Origin squad.[19] In February, he played in the Cowboys' first-grade side's trial game against the Broncos, scoring a try. In May, Ponga was selected for the Junior Kangaroos and Junior Kiwis but opted not to play.[3][20] He spent the majority of the season playing for the Cowboys' NYC and was named at fullback in the NYC Team of the Year.[21]

On 16 September, Ponga made his NRL debut on the wing against the Brisbane Broncos in the finals, replacing the injured Antonio Winterstein. Ponga was short from scoring his first NRL try in the 16th minute of the game making a break on the wing getting taken down by Broncos Lock Corey Parker.[22] Since 1987, he is just the sixth player to make his first-grade debut in a finals match.[23] He was contracted to the Cowboys until the end of 2017.[24]

In November, it was reported that Ponga had signed a contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2018. On 17 November, when North Queensland returned to pre-season training, head coach Paul Green confirmed the reports and his disappointment saying the contract was in the cooling off period.[25] The deal was officially announced on 28 November as a four-year contract starting in 2018. It was reported that the deal will make him the highest paid teenager in the history of the NRL.[26]

2017

Ponga was named in North Queensland's squad for the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines tournament in February. At the event, he led North Queensland to a quarterfinals berth before being eliminated by the Storm. He scored five tries and was named in the team of the tournament alongside teammate Gideon Gela-Mosby.[27] Ponga played his first NRL game at fullback for the Cowboys in Round 3. During the game, he recorded two line break assists, seven tackle breaks and 113 running metres in their 8-30 loss to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.[28] He scored his maiden NRL try in the Cowboys' Round 4 victory over the Gold Coast Titans.[29] He was named man of the match in the Cowboys round 8 victory against the Newcastle Knights after scoring two tries.[30] Ponga returned to the North Queensland first-grade lineup in their round 24 clash against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. During the match, he suffered a shoulder injury. He returned two weeks later in the NYC finals elimination loss to Manly. In September, he was named at fullback in the NYC Team of the Year for the second year in a row,[31] before being announced as one of five finalists for the RLPA Rookie of the Year award.

2018

Ponga was eligible to represent Australia and New Zealand in test football, but confirmed his allegiance to Queensland, and therefore Australia, in January 2018.[32] In round 1 of the 2018 season, he made his debut for the Knights in their 19-18 golden point extra-time win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, scoring a try and kicking three goals.[33]

In June, Ponga made his State of Origin debut for Queensland in Game II of the 2018 State of Origin series.[34] He came onto the field from the interchange bench in the 28th minute, playing out of position in the middle of the field. He played 52 minutes, made 29 tackles and made a line break late in the game, coming close to scoring an equalizing try, only to be pulled down by New South Wales fullback James Tedesco before the line in Queensland's 18-14 loss. Former Knights and Australian test halfback Andrew Johns called it 'the best debut in Origin history.'[35][36][37]

2019

On 7 October 2019, Ponga was named in the Australian side for the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s. Later that day, Ponga was named in the U23 Junior Australian side.

2020

In June, Ponga extended his contract with the Knights until the end of 2024.[38]

Achievements and accolades

Individual

NYC Team of the Year: 2016, 2017 RLPA Rookie of the Year: Nominated 2017

Statistics

NRL
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2018 season[39]
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2016 North Queensland 2 0 0 — 0 0
2017 North Queensland 730—012
2018 Newcastle 20 6 27 69.23 0 78
2019 Newcastle
Career totals 27 3 27 69.23 0 90

References
  1. "Kalyn Ponga - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 30 March 1998. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  2. "Kalyn Ponga". cowboys.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  3. Meyn, Travis (3 May 2016). "Ponga eligibility war takes shock twist". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  4. "Queensland Origin star Kalyn Ponga's dramatic WA beginnings". The West Australian. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  5. "A video of Qld schoolboy prodigy Kalyn Ponga has become an online sensation". Fox Sports. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  6. "A video of Qld schoolboy prodigy Kalyn Ponga has become an online sensation". Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  7. "2012 - 15 Years Darwin - Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportsTG. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  8. "2013 - 15 Years Canberra - Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportsTG. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  9. "Talent born from Academy - lions.com.au". Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  10. Garry, Chris (1 January 2014). "North Queensland Cowboys sign most talented 15-year-old in Australia - Kalyn Ponga". Courier Mail. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  11. Garry, Chris (1 January 2014). "North Queensland Cowboys sign most talented 15-year-old in Australia - Kalyn Ponga". Courier Mail. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  12. Whiting, Michael (24 June 2018). "What if? Brisbane rues the one that got away". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  13. Nicolussi, Christian (3 May 2018). "How the NRL's brightest new star Kalyn Ponga was almost lost to AFL". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  14. Nicolussi, Christian (5 June 2019). "'It was that close': How Kalyn Ponga almost moved to AFL". Yahoo! Sport. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  15. "Ignatius Park College Newsletter" (PDF). Ignatius Park College. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  16. "Queensland Emerging Under 18 Squad 2015" (PDF). QRL.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  17. Garry, Chris (3 August 2015). "Kalyn Ponga makes debut for Cowboys under-20s after overcoming life-threatening brain infection". Fox Sports. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  18. Webeck, Tony (28 January 2016). "Whiz kid's NRL dream on hold". NRL.com. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  19. "Broncos young guns dominate QAS U20s". QRL.com.au. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  20. "Ponga looms as Cowboys saviour". ESPN. September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  21. "2016 Holden Cup Team of the Year announced". NRL.com. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  22. "NYC team list: Cowboys v Tigers". cowboys.com.au. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  23. Hooper, James (16 September 2016). "North Queensland Cowboys take huge gamble on Kalyn Ponga to make debut in semi-final". Fox Sports. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  24. Garry, Chris; Badel, Peter (7 May 2016). "Cowboys in danger of losing Kalyn Ponga after he formally rejects contract offer". Courier Mail. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  25. Zero Tackle (1 November 2016). "Cowboys coach confirms Kalyn Ponga will join Knights". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  26. NewcastleKnights.com.au. "Newcastle Knights secure Kalyn Ponga from 2018". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  27. "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  28. "NRL Match Centre 2017". Matchcentre.nrl.com. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  29. "NRL 2017 - Round 4". Rugby League Project. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  30. NRL Digital Media. "Post-match: Kalyn Ponga". Cowboys. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  31. "2017 NYC Team of the Year - Zero Tackle". 4 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  32. Clark, Laine (27 January 2018). "Turning back on New Zealand for Queensland a no-brainer for Kayln Ponga". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  33. "Late mail: Knights v Manly". 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  34. "Queensland reveals team for must-win Origin game". wwos.nine.com.au. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  35. "Stat of Origin: Kalyn Ponga outshines senior teammates". 25 June 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  36. "State of Origin: Paul Gallen didn't realise Kalyn Ponga was that good". 25 June 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  37. "Johns calls Ponga's debut, the best in history". wwos.nine.com.au. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  38. https://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news/2020/06/16/kalyn-ponga-secures-knights-nrl-future/
  39. "Official NRL profile of Kalyn Ponga for Newcastle Knights". Newcastle Knights. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
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