The father of star fullback Kalyn Ponga has met Newcastle management to resolve increasing tension in a last-ditch bid to
have a withdrawn $3.3m deal for his son reinstated.
Aware he had unsettled the Knights, Andre Ponga met with club officials over the past 48 hours to heal agitation between the two parties and attempt to have his son’s three-year extension rekindled.
A Sydney radio broadcaster even suggested Andre had “apologised”.
It appears Andre’s contrition has worked with well-placed sources indicating Kalyn’s deal for 2025, 2026 and 2027 could now be revived.
Newcastle also felt the need to firmly tell Andre that it was management who ran the club — not him. With Andre promising to pull back at the club, Newcastle now believe the deal can be salvaged.
There is even a suggestion the messy contract drama could be resolved soon with Ponga to remain a Knight although several senior officials will still need to be convinced.
Knights recruitment manager Clint Zammit was spotted by a Telegraph reader flying into Newcastle on Monday to talk with club officials about the Ponga drama.
There are concerns within the Knights organisation about the influence Andre has at Newcastle.
Ponga agreed to the new contract a fortnight ago but Andre – not Newcastle — wanted authority over when to publicly announce the deal. And the club was also concerned at Andre’s intrusion into the club’s NRLW side.
Former NRL player and commentator Jimmy Smith also secured important details on the drama, telling SEN Radio: “The dissatisfaction with the influence that Kalyn’s father, Andre, has at Newcastle … it got to the point where the deal was pulled. It took some resurrection on behalf of Andre.
“From what I understand, Andre spent (Monday) time apologising to key figures within the club. He was involved in the women’s side and then there was speculation around him wanting to manage some of the players, which is a clear conflict of interest.
“The final straw was that they wanted to make the announcement on the Kalyn deal at a time when Andre felt it was appropriate as opposed to the Newcastle Knights.
“The deal gets pulled, it’s back on the table because of Andre’s actions on Monday. We will watch with interest, the deal to be announced very shortly. But it’s a case of the Knights pulling their foot down and saying: ‘Hey, we are in control of this club — not you (Andre)’.”
Another source close to the club said “The story was 100 per cent spot on. The offer was pulled. People are saying it’s not true but it was f...ing true.”
Some officials in rugby league also question why Andre is acting for Kalyn when he’s not an accredited NRL player agent. Andre is however, under NRL rules, permitted to act as an agent for his son given he is a family member.
The Dolphins’ interest in Ponga remains genuine but seems to be waning.
It appears the new NRL club is more focused on Melbourne’s Cameron Munster than Ponga. Young Penrith fullback Sunia Turuva has also been linked to the Dolphins.
Ponga has an option his way for the next two years in his existing Newcastle contract. The three-year extension means the overall deal would span five seasons.
Newcastle CEO Phil Gardner will return from a Hawaiian holiday within the week to clean up the Ponga mess. Gardner has been telling media representatives he will not comment on player contract movement.
“Unfortunately, caught in the middle of all this is Kalyn, who just wants to play some footy. And based on what we saw on Sunday (against St George Illawarra), when he is able to do that and concentrate on his footy, he’s exceptional,” Smith said.
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