Kalyn Ponga has revealed how a “brutal” meeting with Wayne Bennett convinced him to reject the straight-shooting Dolphins coach and ink a $6 million extension with the Knights.
Ponga ended months of speculation on Wednesday by signing a five-year deal to remain in Newcastle until the end of 2027, in the process ruling out becoming the Dolphins’ marquee signing for their NRL debut in 2023.
Expansion newcomers the Dolphins had the Knights superstar on their hit list and Bennett ramped-up his pursuit three weeks ago when the super coach formally met with the Ponga camp in Sydney.
But the Dolphins’ poaching raid sensationally collapsed when a stunned Ponga walked out of the meeting, looked his father Andre in the eye and realised his future lay in Newcastle.
Bennett hit Ponga right between the eyes. He challenged him like he has never been challenged before. The seven-time premiership-winner, the greatest coach in the game’s history, openly wondered whether Ponga was committed to greatness.
The nail in the coffin came when Bennett, who coached Newcastle for three seasons in 2012-14, delivered a no-nonsense critique of the Knights. It was a spear to the heart of Ponga.
“He was pretty stern with me and honest with me,” Ponga told News Corp of the Bennett meeting.
“He was pretty forward. He doesn’t have time to beat around the bush or tell you what you want to hear.
“I just don’t think his perception of the club is what I think it is here. I walked away from that saying there are a lot of people working hard at the Knights, I am challenging myself, the boys are challenging me.
“Wayne, from everything I have heard, is the best. He is a great coach. But there are all these people working hard in this club that I didn’t want to walk away from.
“I knew (his final decision) after meeting Wayne. I had to wait to see Wayne.
“For me, the way we have always operated, you put all the options on the table.
“That moment was big in terms of seeing Wayne, in terms of how I was going to walk out of that meeting.
“He was all about getting me to play my best footy. I just thought, ‘Where can I do that? I think I can do it here’.
“He is not in these walls. He doesn’t know what is going on in this club.
“For me, I know what is going on here. That is why I stayed.”
The 72-year-old Bennett made no apologies for his candid discussions with Ponga.
“I have no regrets about how the meeting played out,” he said.
“We had some discussions with Ponga and it was basically up to him whether he wanted to stay at Newcastle or come to the Dolphins.
“It was a simple decision really.
“Kalyn knew how we felt. I wanted him to play for the Dolphins, so he could make his decision with no grey areas.
“What Kalyn wanted to decide was out of our control really.
“We have to be realistic. We aren’t looking at third and fourth-rate players. We are going for the elite players and it’s always going to be hard to get a Kalyn Ponga out of his incumbent club, but it doesn’t mean you don’t ask the question.
“Nothing changes for us. We will move forward and there’s still another six months to sign players.”
Remarkably, Andre Ponga still has a text message on his phone from Bennett from a decade ago. It was when Ponga was 14 and Bennett told Andre that if the family was true to itself, his son would have a long career.
On Wednesday, after intense speculation, the family announced their future lay in Newcastle, not at the Dolphins. It was genuinely a family decision. It always is with the Pongas.
“For me it was pretty cool to sit down with Wayne,” Ponga said.
“I have spoken to him maybe twice in the last eight years. When I was a young kid coming through the Broncos I missed him.
“To sit down and be face-to-face with him, you could tell he is a good coach. The meeting itself was pretty surreal.”
Not enough to get Ponga over the line, though. The Queensland State of Origin star revealed he was leaning towards leaving before returning for pre-season, such was his frustration with the state of flux at the Knights.
He was preparing to play with another halfback following the departure of Mitchell Pearce. He has already had a handful of coaches in his young career.
He wanted some stability.
“Before pre-season I was definitely leaning towards going,” Ponga said.
“There is a lot more that goes into making a decision on your future. There is a lot more that goes into five years. The club hasn’t been stable - new coach, halfback on the way out, high performance unit there has been a lot of change.”
Ponga’s fresh five-year deal will keep him at the Knights until the end of 2027. It is worth in excess of $6 million, potentially much more if the salary cap rises.
There are no player options or get-out clauses. Ponga is committed to the Knights and they are committed to him.
“The vision here is more for me,” Ponga said.
“It is going to be good to have all the rugby union and other questions after games out the window.
“I have worked hard for the last four years to get to this position. I want to work hard for the next five years … to win a comp.”
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