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Ponga Appreciation Thread.

perverse

Referee
Messages
25,828
Could be the talent of his generation. That's how good he is, and there's no other way to put it at this stage. Obviously the future is unwritten, and a lot of things could happen... but he's in the very the rarest tier of young talents. To live up to and even exceed the hype is just phenomenal. We have to be realistic, he's going to have bad days... but I'm not sure when they'll be at this point?

I think the biggest challenges he could hit in his career might be if/when he slows down and loses that pace and elusiveness. He will need to change his game at that point... I think of Benji as an example of someone who did it rough for a long time after losing that sort of physical ability. However, I think Ponga has a way sounder, calmer head on his shoulders than Benji did at this age... and can make much smarter plays already, rather than just crazy ass steps and flick passes.

The sky is the limit for the kid right now.
 

Swarzey

Bench
Messages
4,165
Easily the most gifted talent I've seen come through (albeit I'm not much older than the kid). We're 5 games into his tenure here and he's looking like every bit of the million dollar player we signed and has so, so many years ahead of him. I think he's still going to be better on average than what we have seen and that's the scary part. Like a lot of players in the team he's adjusting to everyone around him and even Fitzgibbon highlighted how their combination still has work to do. He might transition into a 5/8 because of how good his ball playing skills are but he'll be just as destructive and incredible.
 

Knight Vision

First Grade
Messages
5,066
Surely he deserves one.. The kid is brilliant
Brilliant isnt an adjective fitting of the kid. Sublime freak. Every time he takes on the line the defense is second guessing themselves. What an athlete.

Every now and then along comes a player where you just know they will go on to greatness. Ponga is one of those players. I expect he'll hit a few snags along the way like any young man but only bad luck injury wise will stop the juggernaut that is Kayln Ponga.The best thing is he's a Knight
 

perverse

Referee
Messages
25,828
I could be wrong, but I think he's pretty close to leading the Dally M race after tonight, too. Equal first leading into this weekend.
 

Swarzey

Bench
Messages
4,165
It's crazy to think that he's only 12 games into a career that could span into the hundreds and plays the way he does; in his first full season being up there in the Dally M tally.

Freak and in the most fantastic way possible.
 

Burwood

Bench
Messages
4,769
Boyd was asked a question about Kalyn and his big price tag/delivering on expectations in the press conference. All I could of was us nearly spending a million dollars for Bird.

$600,000 for Ponga is an absolute bargain. I can’t see us keeping him on that much for 5 years though- there’ll have to be an upgrade down the track somewhere.
 

Noname36

First Grade
Messages
7,067
The best thing about Ponga is that while he has the step and all that other fancy stuff to get excited about, more importantly he's a naturally gifted ball player with vision and those are extremely few and far between.
 

Knight Vision

First Grade
Messages
5,066
Boyd was asked a question about Kalyn and his big price tag/delivering on expectations in the press conference. All I could of was us nearly spending a million dollars for Bird.

$600,000 for Ponga is an absolute bargain. I can’t see us keeping him on that much for 5 years though- there’ll have to be an upgrade down the track somewhere.
I think he's got some performance clauses in his contract. He earns more if selected for rep squads etc ? 600 K for his talent is a bargain. At all costs we have to keep him in the red and blue for his career.
 

Yosh

Coach
Messages
11,245
The real question is "what cant he do?".

He can run, pass, kick, defend, goal kick, speed, agility, great technique in attack and I'm the tackle, so calm as well. Can't wait for next week to see him play again.
 

Pedge1971

First Grade
Messages
5,898
No one knew about the ball playing skill. Or if they did the Cowboys undersold it.

But geez at nrl level that is priceless..
 

Hardcore_Fan

Juniors
Messages
1,489
That bullet cut out he did to put SKD over that got called forward was freakish. I’ll pay that because it wasn’t forward.

He will need to be careful with those, I reckon he will throw a few intercepts.
 

aqua_duck

Coach
Messages
18,316
I think he's got some performance clauses in his contract. He earns more if selected for rep squads etc ? 600 K for his talent is a bargain. At all costs we have to keep him in the red and blue for his career.
Pretty sure Brown said that the reported figure $600k was contingent on him meeting certain criterias so in other words $600k is the max he'd make under this contract.
 

Dave_

Juniors
Messages
2,330
I can't explain how good Ponga is. He's got the footwork and speed of prime Benji and the passing and goal kicking of Joey.

He's the best player in the comp and I wouldn't trade him for anyone. What a bargain 600k is. Love watching him play
 

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