But now the Knights are stuck with him for 10 years... and Dylan ain't no Cameron Munster or (insert other talented halves that might deserve >$1mil here), that's for sure.
Yeah, look, I doubt they woke up one day and thought “let’s give a somewhat inconsistent five-eighth a contract people would think twice about offering to Nathan Cleary”.
In the context of how dire the halves situation has been at Newcastle for years now though, I understand why they did it. If not Dylan the club is staring down the barrel of Cogger/Gamble failing to nail down the jersey, signing someone like Sexton or Fogarty (who I don’t think move the needle that much personally), or waiting a whole extra year in the hopes Galvin/Hughes are still available and winning one of those bidding wars.
Kalyn Ponga is a rare talent, entire clubs have gone their whole history without having a star or his calibre, and you can’t keep wasting his prime years like the Knights have been. They HAD to do something. And unfortunately, you can’t just go down to Halfbacks R Us and pick the one you want off a shelf. You can only sign who’s available.
It’s obviously an overpay, but I think he’s a very good player who still has untapped potential. I think Dylan’s style of play & running threat are going to open up so much more space for Kalyn, and also Dylan’s own attacking threat will be enhanced by the attention Kalyn draws. Whether the team will have what it takes to go all the way, well, who knows. But I think they’ll play some great footy together.
