Ponga Appreciation Thread.

[Sir Galahad]

Ponga is 1 of the most naturally gifted players I've ever seen , no doubt he's an outstanding class.

If Ponga's attitude and will to win could be coached to reach the heights of his talent we will have a player to lead us to a premiership - a great player in every sense.

The IF is the 1.2 million dollar question.

 

[perverse]

Well sh*t. I feel like we're making a grave mistake throwing a huge deal at Ponga. Time will tell but so far he's a dud.

Wish I got paid that much for being so bad at my job.

He's already on a million a year. It's a payrise... but it's under what the Dolphins would be willing to pay, and it's not that much more than he's on now really.

To be honest I don't have as much of a problem with Kalyn exercising his contract rights as some seem to either. Nor do I have an issue with him speaking with Bennett or others. It's very much a business now. We agreed to the contract, he's not doing anything wrong to test his worth and get the best deal he can. It's frustrating that this keeps coming up over and over, but it's on the club as much as Kalyn, they agreed to all of this.

It's the on-field stuff that is hard to cop. If he's staying, he needs to be better. He needs to start delivering on his perceived worth. If he wants to take the money, he has to bear some responsibility to put the effort in to deliver on it. It's not results that matter to me, it's effort. If he puts in the effort, the results will come. I don't begrudge any player taking what they can get on the market if they work hard for it.

 

[Knight Tales]

Ponga is brilliant. We all know it. The idea he is a dud is ridiculous. The kid nearly won the Dally M in his first year. The issue has been what has followed that. And when we are paying what we are for the repayment we have received it is fairly inequitable. That said our attack structure is not his fault either. It made him a easy target. Cos we never had the movement off or on the ball he required.
if he stays it is a huge gamble for us based on recent efforts, but I also agree that we will never get another talent like him. He and Pryce together on the same field could be the long overdue pay off for our long term suffering as fans. If it works by God we will be dangerous.

 

[Jono078]

To be honest I don't have as much of a problem with Kalyn exercising his contract rights as some seem to either. Nor do I have an issue with him speaking with Bennett or others. It's very much a business now. We agreed to the contract, he's not doing anything wrong to test his worth and get the best deal he can. It's frustrating that this keeps coming up over and over, but it's on the club as much as Kalyn, they agreed to all of this.

Not that you singled me out but I wanted to respond to this. Absolutely he's doing exactly what he should be doing - he's activating the rights of his clause after all.

Not that I have a problem with him testing the market - it was the context surrounding this one.

Had a bludger of a game (so did many others) but then the following day has a meeting to entice him to switch clubs. As I've said previously if I saw my captain have a shit game then the following day do that, you'd wonder where his head and heart is at..

Anyway don't want to go in circles. Looks like he's about to commit to us (on nice money) and hopefully that means we get his full focus and top efforts moving forward because we need it, and frankly deserve better than what we've got in recent years.

 

[perverse]

Not that you singled me out but I wanted to respond to this. Absolutely he's doing exactly what he should be doing - he's activating the rights of his clause after all.

Not that I have a problem with him testing the market - it was the context surrounding this one.

Had a bludger of a game (so did many others) but then the following day has a meeting to entice him to switch clubs. As I've said previously if I saw my captain have a shit game then the following day do that, you'd wonder where his head and heart is at..

Anyway don't want to go in circles. Looks like he's about to commit to us (on nice money) and hopefully that means we get his full focus and top efforts moving forward because we need it, and frankly deserve better than what we've got in recent years.

It wasn't a good look, yeah. Handled poorly. I think JM said elsewhere, could have been a Zoom call. I wasn't calling you or anyone out at all yeah, just giving my take on it.

 

[Silent Knight]

He's already on a million a year. It's a payrise... but it's under what the Dolphins would be willing to pay, and it's not that much more than he's on now really.

To be honest I don't have as much of a problem with Kalyn exercising his contract rights as some seem to either. Nor do I have an issue with him speaking with Bennett or others. It's very much a business now. We agreed to the contract, he's not doing anything wrong to test his worth and get the best deal he can. It's frustrating that this keeps coming up over and over, but it's on the club as much as Kalyn, they agreed to all of this.

It's the on-field stuff that is hard to cop. If he's staying, he needs to be better. He needs to start delivering on his perceived worth. If he wants to take the money, he has to bear some responsibility to put the effort in to deliver on it. It's not results that matter to me, it's effort. If he puts in the effort, the results will come. I don't begrudge any player taking what they can get on the market if they work hard for it.

I’ve never really subscribed to this “it’s a business” mantra. Yes from a cold and detached viewpoint it’s true that’s how the game is these days, but from this fan’s perspective the Knights are a whole lot more than that.

The Knights are in the business of winning hearts and minds. Supporting your team is an emotional investment, you ride the highs and suffer the lows. I still remember the euphoria of our 2001 GF win because I was there and celebrated with the team at Marathon much later that night. Moments like that remain with you forever. Likewise I will never forget how miserable I felt during Rise for Alex round. Alex should never have needed his own round.

When I go down to my local shopping centre and buy groceries, clothes etc those businesses don’t evoke any emotion in me. I don’t tear up at the sight of some fresh broccoli, but I might when I think back to Chief Harragon’s farewell game against the Sharks (we won btw, I was on the hill).

As the club slogan once went…it’s more than a game. Maybe I’m just old school and I should be more like Ponga’s generation and listen to some Kendrick Lamar, pose on Instagram with some influencers and not really give a sh*t about losing on the weekend. But it’s not me and never will be.

 

[Spot On]

Ponga is brilliant. We all know it. The idea he is a dud is ridiculous. The kid nearly won the Dally M in his first year. The issue has been what has followed that. And when we are paying what we are for the repayment we have received it is fairly inequitable. That said our attack structure is not his fault either. It made him a easy target. Cos we never had the movement off or on the ball he required.
if he stays it is a huge gamble for us based on recent efforts, but I also agree that we will never get another talent like him. He and Pryce together on the same field could be the long overdue pay off for our long term suffering as fans. If it works by God we will be dangerous.

Not sure we had 'the movement off or on the ball he required' in his first season either.

Facts sometimes are, a player like Ponga comes along, has a stellar first season, is targetted and worked out by opposition coaches and players and then struggles.

The very best players overcome this. Adapt. Rise to the occasion, week in, week out.

Some never do and eat a chunk of cap space for years till all and sundry can see it isn't worth it. There's plenty of examples of this.

We are yet to see if Ponga is one of the very best players.

With the $$$ he is on, we all hope he is.

 

[Spot On]

I’ve never really subscribed to this “it’s a business” mantra. Yes from a cold and detached viewpoint it’s true that’s how the game is these days, but from this fan’s perspective the Knights are a whole lot more than that.

The Knights are in the business of winning hearts and minds. Supporting your team is an emotional investment, you ride the highs and suffer the lows. I still remember the euphoria of our 2001 GF win because I was there and celebrated with the team at Marathon much later that night. Moments like that remain with you forever. Likewise I will never forget how miserable I felt during Rise for Alex round. Alex should never have needed his own round.

When I go down to my local shopping centre and buy groceries, clothes etc those businesses don’t evoke any emotion in me. I don’t tear up at the sight of some fresh broccoli, but I might when I think back to Chief Harragon’s farewell game against the Sharks (we won btw, I was on the hill).

As the club slogan once went…it’s more than a game. Maybe I’m just old school and I should be more like Ponga’s generation and listen to some Kendrick Lamar, pose on Instagram with some influencers and not really give a sh*t about losing on the weekend. But it’s not me and never will be.

Absolute GOLD!

 

[Walk On Home Boy]

To be clear, my reference to Ponga as a dud so far is based on the value he is offering the club. He's not a dud talent, no one can ever legitimately question that. In fact his ceiling is higher than pretty much any other player in the NRL based on said talent alone. However, he is absolutely a dud from a value perspective. Apart from his first year he's done more harm than good to his reputation. Huge deficiencies in his game have been identified well before the bludger against Cronulla.

He is not even 50% of the player his peers with similar salaries are and that's the big problem here. I think if you were paying the million dollars a season, you'd expect a Hell of a lot more bang for your buck. You might even feel dudded.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Not sure we had 'the movement off or on the ball he required' in his first season either.

Facts sometimes are, a player like Ponga comes along, has a stellar first season, is targetted and worked out by opposition coaches and players and then struggles.

The very best players overcome this. Adapt. Rise to the occasion, week in, week out.

Some never do and eat a chunk of cap space for years till all and sundry can see it isn't worth it. There's plenty of examples of this.

We are yet to see if Ponga is one of the very best players.

With the $$$ he is on, we all hope he is.

he can do it in SOO, he's often 1 of their best on the field, so we know he can do it if he wants to turn it on.

It's not a talent issue, it appears to be attitude, the ability to turn it on week after week.

 

[Sir Galahad]

I’ve never really subscribed to this “it’s a business” mantra

often an excuse for bad behavior, just as money allows people to be who they really are.

 

[Woosh]

he can do it in SOO, he's often 1 of their best on the field, so we know he can do it if he wants to turn it on.

It's not a talent issue, it appears to be attitude, the ability to turn it on week after week.

I still think O’Brien isn’t the coach to get the best out of him.
Like I said before hopefully he makes QLD so he can work with Slater and Smith.
Just a side note he has never won an origin series.
He was also part of a gun 20s Cowboys team that flopped in the finals.
Maybe winning isn’t everything to him.

 

[Zoidberg]

When I go down to my local shopping centre and buy groceries, clothes etc those businesses don’t evoke any emotion in me. I don’t tear up at the sight of some fresh broccoli,

Keep searching mate. You’ll find the right vege for you one day.

 

[Knight76]

As much as Ponga needs to do all he can to be the best he can be at fullback, the Knights need to put him in a position to get the most out of him and enable that talent to come to the fore.

The entire team was flat against Cronulla and KP was getting the ball in bad field position much of the time, both in distance to goal and laterally. He wasn't coming up against the opposition half/centre as much which gives him very little he can do against a set defensive line.

He was also getting the ball alot more in first receiver which isn't his strong suit.

And finally, Newcastle used to have the attacking mentallity of give it to Ponga, largely as realistically he was our only chance. Now though we have a much better structured team with a 7 and 6 that can contribute and can steer the team around the park. They should be running the show.

Ponga needs to re-focus himself in to being the best fullback he can be. Take on a Turbo/Tedesco type fullback role and nail that. And the coaching staff needs to recognise we don't need Ponga in everything, we don't need him touching the ball as much as he can in the hope something good happens, we need him touching the ball in the right moments, at the right spots on the field to get him having the biggest impact. And we need him Johnny on the spot in support play, and bringing back kick returns to get us the best start to our set we can.

Fullback is the most important position on the field and we need him to be the best he can be at that role alone!

 

[perverse]

I’ve never really subscribed to this “it’s a business” mantra. Yes from a cold and detached viewpoint it’s true that’s how the game is these days, but from this fan’s perspective the Knights are a whole lot more than that.

The Knights are in the business of winning hearts and minds. Supporting your team is an emotional investment, you ride the highs and suffer the lows. I still remember the euphoria of our 2001 GF win because I was there and celebrated with the team at Marathon much later that night. Moments like that remain with you forever. Likewise I will never forget how miserable I felt during Rise for Alex round. Alex should never have needed his own round.

When I go down to my local shopping centre and buy groceries, clothes etc those businesses don’t evoke any emotion in me. I don’t tear up at the sight of some fresh broccoli, but I might when I think back to Chief Harragon’s farewell game against the Sharks (we won btw, I was on the hill).

As the club slogan once went…it’s more than a game. Maybe I’m just old school and I should be more like Ponga’s generation and listen to some Kendrick Lamar, pose on Instagram with some influencers and not really give a sh*t about losing on the weekend. But it’s not me and never will be.

Yeah, I guess I am just more jaded these days than I once was. Power to you if you still feel that way.

 

[Sir Galahad]

I still think O’Brien isn’t the coach to get the best out of him.

waaaay to conservative. Last weekends performance is squarly on the coach.

 

[Jono078]

waaaay to conservative. Last weekends performance is squarly on the coach.

Someone needs to tell him it'll be sunny and 24 on Thursday!

 

[Spot On]

To be clear, my reference to Ponga as a dud so far is based on the value he is offering the club. He's not a dud talent, no one can ever legitimately question that. In fact his ceiling is higher than pretty much any other player in the NRL based on said talent alone. However, he is absolutely a dud from a value perspective. Apart from his first year he's done more harm than good to his reputation. Huge deficiencies in his game have been identified well before the bludger against Cronulla.

He is not even 50% of the player his peers with similar salaries are and that's the big problem here. I think if you were paying the million dollars a season, you'd expect a Hell of a lot more bang for your buck. You might even feel dudded.

Wouldn’t be many league fans who would disagree with this.

 

[Silent Knight]

Keep searching mate. You’ll find the right vege for you one day.

My eyes light up like Greg Inglis and Latrell Mitchell when I get down to the frozen meat pie section.

 

[Reflector]

I’ve never really subscribed to this “it’s a business” mantra. Yes from a cold and detached viewpoint it’s true that’s how the game is these days, but from this fan’s perspective the Knights are a whole lot more than that.

The Knights are in the business of winning hearts and minds. Supporting your team is an emotional investment, you ride the highs and suffer the lows. I still remember the euphoria of our 2001 GF win because I was there and celebrated with the team at Marathon much later that night. Moments like that remain with you forever. Likewise I will never forget how miserable I felt during Rise for Alex round. Alex should never have needed his own round.

When I go down to my local shopping centre and buy groceries, clothes etc those businesses don’t evoke any emotion in me. I don’t tear up at the sight of some fresh broccoli, but I might when I think back to Chief Harragon’s farewell game against the Sharks (we won btw, I was on the hill).

As the club slogan once went…it’s more than a game. Maybe I’m just old school and I should be more like Ponga’s generation and listen to some Kendrick Lamar, pose on Instagram with some influencers and not really give a sh*t about losing on the weekend. But it’s not me and never will be.

In this era of full-time professionalism of course there's going to be players who only see the game as a way to secure their future financially speaking, for a very short career lifespan. But there's still plenty of players in the current NRL who see doing it full-time and the money as a bonus for playing a game/ playing for a club they love.

Better to have a team full of decent footballers who give a shit like that. While they might not have the same talent as some of their colleagues, it's the attitude that can win games that mean a higher placing on the ladder, progression in the finals or even actually winning the trophy at the end of it. Winning is a business, but nothing makes that business work like people who genuinely care about winning.