Kalyn Ponga discussion

jamesgould said:
Sometimes I wonder when I read comments on social media, etc from Australia … you guys do have a lot of immigration and different ethnicities in your society, but it doesn’t really feel like it from what I read.
Click to expand...
A lot of that is bot-driven (and who funds the bots) or very online dipsticks...go into most pubs in Australia and no one gives a rat's where you're from. A good bloke is a good bloke.
 
Record without him in 2004 was 8 and 13. Unless somehow if Joey missing the other three games would mean that we'd somehow go below 8 wins, maybe losing so bad they take wins off us, no we wouldn't have run second last without him that year.

mozza said:
Even with the class he had alongside him at times the difference with and without him was insane. Like lose by 40 one week without him and then he’s back the next and we win by 40. No player in history has had close to the impact on a teams results than he did.
Click to expand...

If you really want to throw the cat among the pigeons: anyone had a look at the discrepancy between Brisbane with and without Reece Walsh? They've won almost 70% of their games when he's fit and about 42% without him since he got there. With Joey I believe it was like 61% wins and 38% losses but I could be wrong about the exact %'s there. But this sort of massive swing isn't unique to Joey, is the point.

What's interesting is that Brisbane's options for back up fullback over most of that time have been Selwyn Cobbo's bludging arse or ????. This has an impact right? It's partly that player being elite and partly the size of the downgrade to your next option.

How was our roster management in terms of back up halves for Joey? Would it not be fair to point out that in the peak "team goes to **** without Joey" years were when he was usually playing with a utility or back rower at 6? And that the "arse falls out of the team" problem was never as bad when the other options were players like Brett Kimmorley, Leo Dynevor, Matthew Johns...

Don't get it twisted, I think Joey is the best player I've ever seen, but "team goes from really good to really bad once you take one player out" only happens if that player coming out of the team exposes a massive roster management issue, and "team really good" can only happen with a bunch of other good players around him. If you put Joey on those dog**** Wests and Souths team of his era he wouldn't have single-handedly made them contenders. It doesn't work like that.
 
Anyway. That's all a tangent. Joey came into a club that wasn't embarrassing. Kalyn's leap of faith in signing with literally the worst club team in the history of the sport as a professional league was kind of *the* signal moment in terms of bringing some hope into the joint in our darkest days. It led to a lot of players wanting to come here who otherwise would laugh us off. It hasn't been a smooth road, but if it ends with him hoisting that trophy, well, you can argue about who ranks where, but he would unquestionably go from *an* important player in our history into one of *the* players in our history, if you get me.

A lot of road to pave before we get there though.
 
jamesgould said:
Who are you meaning, Ponga? He wasn’t allowed to play for the Kiwis while he played Origin, though.
Click to expand...
Thats the choice i mean, he never had to play origin, he should have chosen the Kiwis if it means that much. IMO only, i know we dont all agree i dont think we will either and thats ok.
 
Beatell said:
Thats the choice i mean, he never had to play origin, he should have chosen the Kiwis if it means that much. IMO only, i know we dont all agree i dont think we will either and thats ok.
Click to expand...
He put Origin football over international football, I guess the choice he had to make was play Origins or internationals, because it was pretty clear he didn’t want to play for Australia. And he chose Origin which is fine and a lot of players would do.

Personally think it’s better to see players in that situation take part in international football, rather than miss out on that part of their career, or worse, play for a country they’re not passionate about.

Will also add, players have been doing it since Adrian Lam in the mid-90s, and nobody freaked out about it back then.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
Anyway. That's all a tangent. Joey came into a club that wasn't embarrassing. Kalyn's leap of faith in signing with literally the worst club team in the history of the sport as a professional league was kind of *the* signal moment in terms of bringing some hope into the joint in our darkest days. It led to a lot of players wanting to come here who otherwise would laugh us off. It hasn't been a smooth road, but if it ends with him hoisting that trophy, well, you can argue about who ranks where, but he would unquestionably go from *an* important player in our history into one of *the* players in our history, if you get me.

A lot of road to pave before we get there though.
Click to expand...
September isn't that far away......
 
Just a little side note on internationals, my hot take.

I think I’d have a lot more time for origin and internationals if they were more merit based, based on that season. I enjoy watching the prime ministers team. Lots of players that had a brilliant season - rewarded.

Used to love city v country. Anyone that wasn’t playing for Australia, would be lined up for this game to earn their spot in the NSW team.

I hate that we have to listen to “player x is out of form, playing terrible, but they have been selected”. I don’t like it. It should be a reward to players. It should be the most in form players competing.

Anyway. Happy for Ponga. It’s okay that he resonates with QLD and New Zealand. Like a lot of footy players and humans in general, they mature and see the bigger picture.
Some kids shy away from their heritage, but as they get a bit older, more mature, they see the big picture they embrace it. Not saying that’s Ponga’s situation, but he obviously feels connection to both QLD and NZ (and hopefully Newcastle…)
 
bremsstrahlung said:
Just a little side note on internationals, my hot take.

I think I’d have a lot more time for origin and internationals if they were more merit based, based on that season. I enjoy watching the prime ministers team. Lots of players that had a brilliant season - rewarded.
Click to expand...
Interested in some examples you think of this. I think selectors do a pretty good job on the most part, NSW the last 2 years have sacked their captain from the year previously for example.
 
The thing with the Blues is that it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of rhyme and reason to which players are considered ironed-on must picks where they’re in no matter what their club form is like or who else is leaping out of the ground, and who’s only one bad Origin game or **** run at club level away from getting the boot.

We can debate whether Teddy getting dumped for Dylan Edwards was the right call or not all the live long day, but at the end of the day he along with Joey, Fittler and Laurie Daley is on the Mt Rushmore of greatest ever Blues, and it’s legit kind of weird that he had a weaker grip on his jersey than, for example, Liam Martin, Jake Trbojevic or, let’s go there, Nathan Cleary.

One that really stuck in my craw too was how quickly Josh Addo-Carr lost his spot. Why? Such a proven big game player and the guy who took his spot turned in, in the 2025 series, one of the softest & most pathetic match-turningly bad performances we’ve ever seen from an outside back at Origin level.

The wagon gets hitched to the wrong stalwarts and the guys that prove that have that extra gear are the first ones we toss out of the apple cart. God I love mixed metaphors.
 
How do you quantify who "deserves" to be there on merit, though? It's ultimately a subjective, human decision making process decision no matter what.

Personally I don't have a problem with it. Players generally only get the kind of cache to have a hold on a jersey by proving they're really, really good for an extended period of time. The onus is on the upcoming player to show why they need to be there even with a bigger name in front of them. You get the odd player here or there who is picked a year too long, but it's generally found out pretty quick and corrected moving forward. All part of the constant spectacle of it.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
The thing with the Blues is that it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of rhyme and reason to which players are considered ironed-on must picks where they’re in no matter what their club form is like or who else is leaping out of the ground, and who’s only one bad Origin game or **** run at club level away from getting the boot.

We can debate whether Teddy getting dumped for Dylan Edwards was the right call or not all the live long day, but at the end of the day he along with Joey, Fittler and Laurie Daley is on the Mt Rushmore of greatest ever Blues, and it’s legit kind of weird that he had a weaker grip on his jersey than, for example, Liam Martin, Jake Trbojevic or, let’s go there, Nathan Cleary.

One that really stuck in my craw too was how quickly Josh Addo-Carr lost his spot. Why? Such a proven big game player and the guy who took his spot turned in, in the 2025 series, one of the softest & most pathetic match-turningly bad performances we’ve ever seen from an outside back at Origin level.

The wagon gets hitched to the wrong stalwarts and the guys that prove that have that extra gear are the first ones we toss out of the apple cart. God I love mixed metaphors.
Click to expand...
It's an interesting one, and I don't necessarily disagree. I do think (and did so at the time) that Edwards was the right pick for game 2, 2024, but I certainly don't lay the blame for the game 1 loss on Teddy. If a team was picked today though, I'd have Teddy in front of Edwards, easily.

As for mixed metaphors, that's Laurie to a tee. The master of mixed metaphors and inventor of words.
 
Battler said:
Probably my favourite Loz mixed metaphor (or invention of words, take your pick) was when, whilst commentating, he remarked that a defender 'got caught in second man's land'.

Never change, Laurie.
Click to expand...
That’s a “shaking like a beetroot” moment aye @Battler 😆

This obvious one from Loz-
“You can’t give penalties away in that part of the field”

And here I was thinking penalties were a good thing to give away everywhere all the time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top