Official: Knights sign Kalyn Ponga on a 4 year deal

lol Kurriboy he would outweigh you after a full pre-season conditioning routine.

I think by the time he runs out Round 1 next year he will be over 95kg.
 
I would not want Ponga putting on too much weight it may affect that step and he needs to keep that ...
 
It's funny how kids grow at different rates.
Sione is hardly any taller and maybe only 10kg heavier than when he was 15.
On the other hand, Sam Stone was about 6' and maybe 85kg just two years ago. Now he is 6'4" and 100kg and probably still growing.
 
It's funny how kids grow at different rates.
Sione is hardly any taller and maybe only 10kg heavier than when he was 15.
On the other hand, Sam Stone was about 6' and maybe 85kg just two years ago. Now he is 6'4" and 100kg and probably still growing.

I've not seen that much of him Billy how good is he? Or has he been in 20s more to the point


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I've not seen that much of him Billy how good is he? Or has he been in 20s more to the point


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I was thinking the other day, having a firstgrade coach at home doing nothing last year might have been pretty handy.
He was a rep player at under 18s level, but he didn't get a bench spot in under 20s till round 4 I think, he didn't get a starting spot till round 10, and it was really only the last 5 rounds he was looking like the best forward.
So in 12 months he has gone from not getting a spot in NYC to firstgrade.
 
I was thinking the other day, having a firstgrade coach at home doing nothing last year might have been pretty handy.
He was a rep player at under 18s level, but he didn't get a bench spot in under 20s till round 4 I think, he didn't get a starting spot till round 10, and it was really only the last 5 rounds he was looking like the best forward.
So in 12 months he has gone from not getting a spot in NYC to firstgrade.

Fast learner then lets hope he keeps going. He seemed to struggle fitness wise when I watched him on the weekend so hopefully he can work on that also.


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And im tipping him for rookie of the yr...
Has great hands, vision, knowledge, size, and not slow either... he could cover centre, 5/8, lock, 2nd row, and once he fills out another 7-10kg he could play prop.
 
Bit of a pity that Ben Stone got more of his old man's genes than his mum's.
Ben obviously has a good footy brain too, by the way he played about 4 different positions in reserve grade last year, including hooker, halves and second row, but he's about a foot shorter than Sam and has gone to Newcastle Wests this year.
 
And im tipping him for rookie of the yr...
Has great hands, vision, knowledge, size, and not slow either... he could cover centre, 5/8, lock, 2nd row, and once he fills out another 7-10kg he could play prop.

There's one key attribute that I think he lacks. Natural strength

The major attribute that sets NRL players aside from reserve graders is their immense strength. So far, and I mean so far, Stone looks too weak for FG. That's not to say he won't become stronger or find another way to become more physically influential, but at the moment he's soft as ****

And my suspicion is that it may be something that he can't improve enough. You've either got it or you don't
 
There's one key attribute that I think he lacks. Natural strength

The major attribute that sets NRL players aside from reserve graders is their immense strength. So far, and I mean so far, Stone looks too weak for FG. That's not to say he won't become stronger or find another way to become more physically influential, but at the moment he's soft as ****

And my suspicion is that it may be something that he can't improve enough. You've either got it or you don't


Ive seen him carry 4 player twice in first grade already, has he missed a tackle yet?
Id say his strong enough, just not filled out like most nrl flayers....
 
Ive seen him carry 4 player twice in first grade already, has he missed a tackle yet?
Id say his strong enough, just not filled out like most nrl flayers....
I didn't see that

Look I'm happy to be wrong, I hope I am because he does everything else well. But his strength is an issue, at the moment, majority of his tackles are borderline ineffective. And his hit ups end the moment he hits the line.

Denniss was a year younger, about the same size and weight, and would carry defenders on most hit ups. Strength is for the most part a natural thing. And Stone is below par for a 6'4 footballer, 19 years old or not.

What he does have on his side is the fact that he is new to the weight class, so we can wait and see
 
Stone has a lot more room to improve than Yates I think.
Yates has done a mountain of work over 3 years of NYC, two years of reserve grade and 2 NRL pre seasons to get himself as fit and strong as he possibly can, and has made it to NRL level.
Stone did 1 NYC pre season and 1 NRL pre season and basically just started as a fulltime footballer at the start of this season.

I have nothing but admiration for Yates, but he has done about 4 times the work to get to where he is now than Stone has done, so you'd think Stone has a lot more improvement in him.
 
I agree that Stone and Denniss are almost polar opposites.
Denniss is a brute of a natural athlete without any idea of how to play football.
Stone gets all his strength and fitness from hard work in the gym, and already has a great football brain.
 
I didn't see that

Look I'm happy to be wrong, I hope I am because he does everything else well. But his strength is an issue, at the moment, majority of his tackles are borderline ineffective. And his hit ups end the moment he hits the line.

Denniss was a year younger, about the same size and weight, and would carry defenders on most hit ups. Strength is for the most part a natural thing. And Stone is below par for a 6'4 footballer, 19 years old or not.

What he does have on his side is the fact that he is new to the weight class, so we can wait and see

I just informed u of Stone carrying 4 guys twice and having not missed a tackle yet in his 3 limited games of nrl footy...

U reply with his tackles are borderline ineffective?? And how a winger did one good run where he carried a winger and fended off a centre and is somehow stronger :applause:
 
For me I would play Stone at centre at least until he fills out ..If he does.... Greg inglis is tall and strong but never really Bulked up (Luckily ). I guess it has to do with how they train and they're gene's too. Personally I think Stone has been playing good footy for a rookie and Is really where the Saifiti's were at , at the start of last season. At centre he would not be tackling forwards all the time and his Height, weight and mobility would be very usefull at centre and with Pete or Rossdawg outside him they would be good defensivly too..
 
For me I would play Stone at centre at least until he fills out ..If he does.... Greg inglis is tall and strong but never really Bulked up (Luckily ). I guess it has to do with how they train and they're gene's too. Personally I think Stone has been playing good footy for a rookie and Is really where the Saifiti's were at , at the start of last season. At centre he would not be tackling forwards all the time and his Height, weight and mobility would be very usefull at centre and with Pete or Rossdawg outside him they would be good defensivly too..


Ive been banging on about this idea as well mate, think with his footy smarts vision and skills plus size and agility he could set up many tries out wide.
 
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