Kalyn Ponga discussion

jamesgould said:
Watching the slo mo replay after the game it was pretty clear he was dazed at the very least … he was on his side and his head had just gone limp.

Staying down might have helped him stay on the field, but I don’t think it’s a good idea if anyone’s considering his future wellbeing.
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Last one, when his head caught the hip of the opposition player, he stayed down, later saying he was fine, and it was ruled a category 1. He said the same thing, he felt fine etc.

Then why stay down, there was no chance at a penalty for either incidents.

Given his concussions, and considering that cat 1 earlier where he said he was fine, he must be a real slow learner to stay down again and risk another category 1, and potentially his origin spot.

Or, he was dazed.

The hit didnt look like much either, fairly run of the mill contact. Seems he may be copping concussions or at least effects, from less and less severe contact.
 
And if there is concern about his concussions and getting them easier from lighter contact, Origin is no place for him.
 
I don’t like the “duty of care” phrasing. The Knights have gone above and beyond what other clubs have done on that front.

The selection makes sense from the perspective that Walsh has been in terrific form, and there’s much less risk of needing to replace him midgame on recent evidence. But the implication that due diligence isn’t being exercised in his case is a bit of a weird drive by.
 
JOJO82 said:
The NRL is no place for him if that's the case....he needs to put his health first.
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I agree if he is getting affected by slight contact.

But he went to Canada, apparently got cleared and says he is fine.

You wouldnt think the club or NRL would place themselves in a precarious legal position playing him knowing he isnt right, so who knows.

Im only spitballing and putting 2 and 2 together, but something isnt right.
 
The Canada trip cleared him of damage, everything ok but it didn’t harden his head or cushioned his brain, anyone getting hit about the head is likely to be stunned-knocked out, he is human and unfortunately some suffer these symptoms more than others. If it continues as is then he and club will have to reconsider the situation
 
Hugh wake up call for Ponga missing out on SOO. I mean the head knocks were out of his control. The decision to play 5/8 would also have been a factor. How will Reece Walsh go? Will Ponga get a run in Origin again? Be interesting to see how it all plays out in the future. For the Knights sake we want Ponga playing to his potential and consistently. It’s been a tough year for him. I hope he bounces back and becomes the player / leader we all need / want him to be. A lot of our eggs are in his basket.
 
frankLauda said:
Hugh wake up call for Ponga missing out on SOO. I mean the head knocks were out of his control. The decision to play 5/8 would also have been a factor. How will Reece Walsh go? Will Ponga get a run in Origin again? Be interesting to see how it all plays out in the future. For the Knights sake we want Ponga playing to his potential and consistently. It’s been a tough year for him. I hope he bounces back and becomes the player / leader we all need / want him to be. A lot of our eggs are in his basket.
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Yeah now he's lost that spot to Walsh he might really struggle to get it back, the way Walsh has been playing.

Makes his contract look a bit crazy if he can't even call himself an Origin player.
 
Was also interesting to see Ponga get a few knocks to the head and how he responded/coped with them.
Obviously there’s no such thing as a good knock to the head, but it was good to see him bounce back up.
There were 2 in there that seemed more forceful and direct than the controversial pre origin one the other week where he looked stunned. It was good to see him get up and seemingly appear unaffected.

I remember reading something about Wil Pucovski (spelling?) and how they thought he’d suffered far less ‘real’ concussions. It was thought to be a PTSD/psychological response to getting hit in the head and his body would go into shock/stress and mimic concussion symptoms. Obviously different circumstances, but wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a psychological/nervous system response involved for Ponga.
 
I'm not convinced he wasn't affected by that knee to the head against Manly. The look on his face was like he was just staring at the ground just in front of him to get himself steady and get onside, avoid HIA.

We could be seeing KP take slight concussions and shrug them off so he can continue playing.

I was very surprised he didn't go for a HIA for that one.
 
I just read that he said he "ruled himself out" of origin informing Slater he wanted to focus on staying in the field and playing for the Knights.
Although watching the press conference after the Sharks game he was talking about how he was ready to put his hand up for Queensland if picked. 🤔
 
Yeah it's nice that he's made the choice now, but he definitely wanted to play. Probably just came to the decision after missing selection in the first game, considering he's barely been on the field and Walsh did a great job.
 
The right decision. He owes the club after the last couple of years. Good to see he’s got his head screwed on right. I reckon he’s in for a big 2nd half of the year.
 
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