Kalyn Ponga discussion

Ponga has already played for the Maori All Stars twice to get his fix. He and his dad acknowledged how grateful they were that the Knights allowed him to play those games because they didn't have to. Then he didn't play for QLD a few years back because he was making his way back from the concussions and injuries (from memory), Walsh was a lock and they preferred to go with Hunt/Grant as utilities which was understandable. Then there was opting out from the Aus team to recover from bumps and bruises when they already had Edwards.

And Mal can get stuffed for that matter as well. Pick & Stick only when they win, but thinks he can dictate when and who guys can play for. I hope Ponga just says he has some injury again as an FU to Mal for his treatment of him.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
This rumour has been doing the rounds on the Warriors and for some reason the Tigers forums and I'm pretty sure it originated with an April Fools post on TikTok.

Journalism...
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KP is much better off at the Knights going forward, particularly as we are building towards a top 4 position and the ability to have a go at premierships.
 
Defence wins games said:
KP is much better off at the Knights going forward, particularly as we are building towards a top 4 position and the ability to have a go at premierships.
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Are we? We are still not a consistent enough team. As Knights supporters we tend to look through rose coloured glasses. Let’s see how we go this year and build on that.

Brown should make us better. But we need this young crop coming though to fire really.
 
frankLauda said:
Are we? We are still not a consistent enough team. As Knights supporters we tend to look through rose coloured glasses. Let’s see how we go this year and build on that.

Brown should make us better. But we need this young crop coming though to fire really.
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I didn’t particularly mean this year, but in the near future.
After following the Knights since day one 1988, I could hardly be accused of looking at the team through rose coloured glasses.
I attended all the home games(and some away games) with my son during the wooden spoon years.
The club is building and when we get into the top 4, we can aspire to premierships.
That was the point.
 
Celticman98 said:
He's been quiet 3 weeks in a row. Very worrying signs imo.
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If you go back and watch the first 2 games. I think you find KP getting the ball a lot more at 1st receiver. Getting himself involved in the game.

Since then, he has moved away from 1st receiver whether through coaching or personal choice, and just isn't involved in the game as much anymore. The ball is going to Crossland, Sharpe or Cogger and only 1 of them is actually an NRL half, and that one most agree is not any good at it.

I mean I don't think you need a coaching for dummies manual to work out if the first player getting the ball in hands is a ball runner and not a playmaker, than likely the chances of something great coming from them is minimal.

Look at Souths, they had injures his the halves and who did they move in to the halves, Latrell, one of their most dynamic attacking players. Yet we play our best creative, dangerous attacking weapon away from the ball as much as possible.
 
I admit, I don’t like when Ponga tries to do too much. I feel that he becomes ineffective. (But he’s been pretty ineffective doing not much lately).

One of our strengths, when we go on the runs, is getting him into his favoured positions. Setting it up for a 3 v 3 or 4 v 4 or being the extra to give us the advantage. Forget which game it was but he played both sides to perfection.

I don’t like giving him the ball for the sake of it. That was our problem with Hastings in games last year. He would get it at first receiver and then just give it to Ponga “here, do something”.

I expect us to play in a way that is likely to lead to those numbers or field position that Ponga thrives in. Doesn’t have to be every set, then it becomes predictable. But we don’t look like we have a plan at all sometimes.

panthers over the years, I reckon they had a predetermined plan for almost every set. Whether it was work it out of trouble and get to the kick. Or attacking, you can hear game audio of Cleary telling them to target the right post. And when they get to that field position, he pulls the pin. I find it hard to fathom that we haven’t come up with something similar.

I wish we had that in us. Our attack looks like a bunch of guys playing a trial that haven’t played together before.

I think we are all a little disappointed. The way Ponga spoke at the end of last season and the way he started this season - we thought he was going to go off this season. But whether it’s team injuries, or what, we just haven’t kicked on to what we all had hoped.

I think we miss KPP, Lucas and Elliot not playing together more than we thought.
 
bremsstrahlung said:
I don’t like giving him the ball for the sake of it. That was our problem with Hastings in games last year. He would get it at first receiver and then just give it to Ponga “here, do something”.

I expect us to play in a way that is likely to lead to those numbers or field position that Ponga thrives in. Doesn’t have to be every set, then it becomes predictable. But we don’t look like we have a plan at all sometimes.

panthers over the years, I reckon they had a predetermined plan for almost every set. Whether it was work it out of trouble and get to the kick. Or attacking, you can hear game audio of Cleary telling them to target the right post. And when they get to that field position, he pulls the pin. I find it hard to fathom that we haven’t come up with something similar.

I wish we had that in us. Our attack looks like a bunch of guys playing a trial that haven’t played together before.

I think we are all a little disappointed. The way Ponga spoke at the end of last season and the way he started this season - we thought he was going to go off this season. But whether it’s team injuries, or what, we just haven’t kicked on to what we all had hoped.

I think we miss KPP, Lucas and Elliot not playing together more than we thought.
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Well it's pretty simple really.

For the safe of it? You want the person in your team, who reads the game the best, sees where the defence can be exploited and can make things happen to exploit what they see, getting the ball as much as possible.

I'm not saying he needs to be first receiver ever single play the ball, thats just ridiculous and no half in the comp gets the ball every play the ball. But this team has to have a player in charge of the attack. That player has to be our most confident, most dangerous attacking player and that again, is always going to be Ponga.

Unless we buy Reynolds or another quality 7, are we going to hand the control of this team to Cogger? Brown? Sharpe? I don't see that working.

This team lives and dies by Ponga's performance. And going all in on Brown/Sharpe combo in the halves cements that.

You talk of Penrith having a plan every set. That is quality coaching, teamed with quality 7 who can make it happen, and a side that all work hard to dominate every facet of the game they can, take every advantage they can. We don't have either of those things. But, who are you thinking can make that constant plan work for us? I'm not thinking Cogger, Brown or Sharpe.
 
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