Kalyn Ponga discussion

NZ Rugby is not exactly flush with funds atm, their tv deal is getting downgraded on last time, and they inexplicably sold part of their company to private equity which now takes tens of millions per year.

Dunno where the $2 million Ponga salary is from, but I’d be very surprised if NZ Rugby could pay anything like that.
 
jamesgould said:
NZ Rugby is not exactly flush with funds atm, their tv deal is getting downgraded on last time, and they inexplicably sold part of their company to private equity which now takes tens of millions per year.

Dunno where the $2 million Ponga salary is from, but I’d be very surprised if NZ Rugby could pay anything like that.
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It was in an article that sourced it to CodeSports.
It was one of those “reportedly had offers of 2M”.

The article also mentioned he’s currently contracted to the Central Coast club. 🤣.

Is it Australia that has the lax eligibility rules? I also thought players needed to play for their nations Super Rugby clubs. But I thought somebody here came on to say there were some loopholes where you can sign on national rugby, but do a sabbatical of sorts. Maybe that was around Nathan Cleary’s rumoured rugby career.

But yes, very much all hearsay at the moment and I expect it’ll only get worse next year as we approach November
 
I said this a few weeks ago before the current injury which probably just reinforces my point….I think the injuries and the natural ageing process are catching up with KP. He’s only in his mid 20s but he’s not the super elusive hyper mobile runner of the football that he was. I likened him to Michael Owen in football which isn’t quite right as Owen was all about pace until his injuries but overall I reckon it is the same scenario.

I reckon the Knights as a team would be stronger if they allowed his to go, move Sharpe to FB when he returns from his injury and then used the cash to firm up their HB and Prop Forward stocks.

It pains me to write this because for years he has been our only bright spot and an absolute magician at times but I think it’s time to face reality.
 
Other than a throwaway comment in an interview from years ago is there anything that actually links Ponga to Union?
 
bremsstrahlung said:
It was in an article that sourced it to CodeSports.
It was one of those “reportedly had offers of 2M”.

The article also mentioned he’s currently contracted to the Central Coast club. 🤣.

Is it Australia that has the lax eligibility rules? I also thought players needed to play for their nations Super Rugby clubs. But I thought somebody here came on to say there were some loopholes where you can sign on national rugby, but do a sabbatical of sorts. Maybe that was around Nathan Cleary’s rumoured rugby career.

But yes, very much all hearsay at the moment and I expect it’ll only get worse next year as we approach November
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Yeah NZ Rugby still has the rules that you have to play super rugby and NPC to be eligible for the ABs. The coach wanted to make an exception for someone recently but it never happened and eventually he gave up.

Players can have a sabbatical, but it’s a long service leave type arrangement, and they’re still not eligible for the ABs while they’re doing it.

So Ponga would have to go through the same playing NPC thing that RTS did, in front of three men and a dog with no tv audience to speak of. So if there’s no money in it, he’d have to reeeeally want to be an All Black.
 
I am a big admirer of both Ponga and Sharpe but claiming Sharpe is a better f/b than Ponga is a bit of a stretch.
I think both are very good, excellent actually but different styles, Ponga more laid back waiting for his moments where Sharpe is more of a go getter, plays flat out and creates his opportunities with effort and speed.
The perfect f/b is probably a mix of both with possibly a bit of extra size.
Both out injured, long term, season most likely but I can’t wait for them to return, if Ponga stays this term or extends then I can see Sharpe making it at 6, that’s the difference, Ponga is a 1 and that’s it a better 1 but Sharpes speed, enthusiasm allow him to play several positions at a high level we just need to surround them with players that allow them to excell each game, with Browns arrival we need strong hard working middles/Props
 
Funny that Ponga as a 6 is seen as a never again thing, and that Ponga is a 1 and thats it, yet we are running Sharpe out as the next big 6 as if he has these skills Ponga lacks, the missing pieces of a 5/8th that will mean the difference in the halves, where really Ponga has better skillset for 6 than Sharpe does, but it socially frowned upon to view Ponga as a 6 as it's "been done".

Yep, been done, so let's roll in the next fullback we are trying to make in to a 6, nothing to see here. :lol:

Truthfully the only reason Sharpe is anywhere near the 6 is because Ponga is our fullback and again, can't try him in 6 again. No Ponga, and Sharpe is straight in to the 1. But reality for now is we do have Ponga in the 1, and we just can't leave Sharpe out of the side, and it's criminal to have him parked on the wing, he needs to be closer to the action, see more ball, permission to roam etc.
 
It is a way of getting both dynamic players into our starting team, yes, but I'd suggest that if Ponga didn't keep getting concussion, he'd be the more likely number 6 with Sharpe in the number 1 jersey.

But given that Ponga it's realistically only a headknock or two from medical retirement, he'll remain at #1 while Sharpe adapts himself to being in the halves.
 
Kurriboy said:
Funny that Ponga as a 6 is seen as a never again thing, and that Ponga is a 1 and thats it, yet we are running Sharpe out as the next big 6 as if he has these skills Ponga lacks, the missing pieces of a 5/8th that will mean the difference in the halves, where really Ponga has better skillset for 6 than Sharpe does, but it socially frowned upon to view Ponga as a 6 as it's "been done".

Yep, been done, so let's roll in the next fullback we are trying to make in to a 6, nothing to see here. :lol:

Truthfully the only reason Sharpe is anywhere near the 6 is because Ponga is our fullback and again, can't try him in 6 again. No Ponga, and Sharpe is straight in to the 1. But reality for now is we do have Ponga in the 1, and we just can't leave Sharpe out of the side, and it's criminal to have him parked on the wing, he needs to be closer to the action, see more ball, permission to roam etc.
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Perhaps the comment of the year
 
Kurriboy said:
Funny that Ponga as a 6 is seen as a never again thing, and that Ponga is a 1 and thats it, yet we are running Sharpe out as the next big 6 as if he has these skills Ponga lacks, the missing pieces of a 5/8th that will mean the difference in the halves, where really Ponga has better skillset for 6 than Sharpe does, but it socially frowned upon to view Ponga as a 6 as it's "been done".

Yep, been done, so let's roll in the next fullback we are trying to make in to a 6, nothing to see here. :lol:

Truthfully the only reason Sharpe is anywhere near the 6 is because Ponga is our fullback and again, can't try him in 6 again. No Ponga, and Sharpe is straight in to the 1. But reality for now is we do have Ponga in the 1, and we just can't leave Sharpe out of the side, and it's criminal to have him parked on the wing, he needs to be closer to the action, see more ball, permission to roam etc.
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If ponga could tackle in the frontline even at a park footy standard i think he would be the 6, he is the worst defender at first contact in the entire nrl
 
jamesgould said:
To my eyes, Sharpe has already had much, much more success at five eighth than Ponga ever did.
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Sure, but that wasn't my point.

And, Sharpe has not had near the level of scrutiny Ponga/pressure got in the position.

Ponga was bullied in to the position by the press who kept on about it, OB eventually moved him there, and then when Ponga didn't set the world on fire there the press started running the stories on how long can AOB persist with the experiment, and that he was risking his job keeping him there etc etc.

Anyway, my post wasn't about Sharpe vs Ponga, just to highlight the different views on two different players moving from fullback to 5/8th.

The concussion thing is another one, Ponga got the majority of his concussions playing from the 1, yet the view is we are protecting him somehow from concussions playing him from the 1. Ponga just had a bad run of concussions, the position didn't really matter substantially.

I think Ponga needs to just go somewhere else for a fresh start.
 
Kurriboy said:
Funny that Ponga as a 6 is seen as a never again thing, and that Ponga is a 1 and thats it, yet we are running Sharpe out as the next big 6 as if he has these skills Ponga lacks, the missing pieces of a 5/8th that will mean the difference in the halves, where really Ponga has better skillset for 6 than Sharpe does, but it socially frowned upon to view Ponga as a 6 as it's "been done".

Yep, been done, so let's roll in the next fullback we are trying to make in to a 6, nothing to see here. :lol:

Truthfully the only reason Sharpe is anywhere near the 6 is because Ponga is our fullback and again, can't try him in 6 again. No Ponga, and Sharpe is straight in to the 1. But reality for now is we do have Ponga in the 1, and we just can't leave Sharpe out of the side, and it's criminal to have him parked on the wing, he needs to be closer to the action, see more ball, permission to roam etc.
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The Ponga to 6 will never happen again as it’s a danger to Ponga’s health. That’s the bottom line at the end of the day.

The only way it could work is if you played Ponga at 6 but then had him defending at 1, but those positional swaps in attack and defence rarely work well on transitions.

I also don’t necessarily think Sharpe has been any worse at 6 than Ponga has been. Because Ponga has more of a kicking game I think people just naturally assume he is/will be a better half than Sharpe but there’s a whole heap of skills needed to be a half that Ponga doesn’t have. Before his kidney issue I was quite impressed with Sharpe’s development there to be honest. Yes FB is obviously still his best position but he was reading the play well and getting the ball where it needed to be. At the start of the season I think Sharpe was getting in the way a lot, playing too much like an extra FB, but he was progressing nicely as the season went on IMO.
 
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slotmachine said:
I don't agree with this tbh. If Ponga was really good at 5/8 he would be playing there, but he's not. He's a way better fullback.
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The guys career was almost ended at 24 and he had to go over to Canada to do tests to make sure he wasn’t at risk of long-term brain damage. IMO even if he was a great 6, which I don’t think he is either, there would definitely be internal concerns about moving him there.

Even if he wasn’t at greater risk of concussions, him defending in the line would be bad for the team due to missed tackles.
 
Chaister said:
he had to go over to Canada to do tests to make sure he wasn’t at risk of long-term brain damage. IMO even if he was a great 6, which I don’t think he is either, there would definitely be barriers to moving him there.
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And yet he played 5/8 (terribly) for a month immediately after he returned from the Canada trip, leading to the infamous Eels game where Moses repeatedly clowned him.

So obviously no issue with his health, he just stunk out loud and hasn't been back there since.
 
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