Kalyn Ponga discussion

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I actually saw them mention it. It was Joel's idea, but Fletch brought up and questioned his defense. It's funny that Ponga has played in the NRL so long to have such a bad tackling technique.
 
frankLauda said:
I actually saw them mention it. It was Joel's idea, but Fletch brought up and questioned his defense. It's funny that Ponga has played in the NRL so long to have such a bad tackling technique.
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I was thinking this the other day - how fullbacks when they lose a bit of their speed/agility (unless you are a Tedesco or hard runner like Edwards) you kind of shift to Centre or 6.

Ponga’s defence probably rules him out of both.
Which is kind of concerning in some ways that he’s a SoO representative and there’s so many question marks over his defence. Almost like having a 9(or anybody) that struggles to pass left to right.

So curious to see what Ponga can do this year.
 
Sheent14 said:
Hopefully KP reminds ppl how good of a Fullback he is this season. Just needs to stay healthy..
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I disagree with the idea people have forgotten how good he is.

I think the hate he gets is actually based around how great he is and how he simply doesn’t do it enough to warrant his paycheque.

So I’d say the long game of his hate is more based around consistency rather than people forgetting how good he is.

Now I think Ponga has hit his ceiling but the problem I have is what he was playing like in the 25’ season wasn’t actually his ceiling and that annoyed me as I think he could play better.

In my opinion Walsh had a much better season it because he is great in attack (he is) but because in the backend he realised he needed to own the moments to give his team the best possible chance, something Ponga seems scared to do.

To cut a long story short, Ponga has hit his ceiling in my opinion this doesn’t mean he is bad but he won’t reach the heights once thought of him but the 25’ season wasn’t even close to that said ceiling.
 
Dont mind Ponga being absent from pre-season opposed sessions. Obviously not ideal, but if we're trying to see the positives, replacing Ponga with a vanilla / basic fullback archetype like Sharpe would be great for the halves to establish themselves in a more typical way, focusing on combos like their backrow runner and what they'd prefer to do with the ball at the line, as opposed to feeling obliged to 'get the ball to Kalyn'

Kalyn will perhaps slot in and slowly warm into his role as opposed to dominating the mindscape of his halves during this early period where new players are establishing themselves inside of a new system with new players.
 
Thieves Like Us said:
Will we see this level of footwork and evasiveness in the 2026 season? 🤔
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Its a very good question.

For some time now I've suspected that Ponga has been more permanently effected by injury than he or the club are willing to admit. And he has had some fairly serious injuries that could impact speed/agility in a permanent way.

He might be entirely unaffected, but he isn't playing like it. Hopefully im wrong and we see the 23 yo Ponga this season.
 
Lis Franc injuries to both feet now.

Strongly relied upon for his explosive efforts and agility. Both hallmarks of his game.

It’s one thing to be running in a straight line. But those sharp changes of direction and even power to push and oppose a player in a tackle put significant forces through the foot in ways it’s hard to prepare for.

I sincerely hope he can get some confidence in his body, and get back to a level where he has be at his devastating best.
 
I do wonder if it was coached. He used to run the ball back and split defenders on kick returns, and then he started playing the “hybrid” half role and was more worried about putting people through holes. Might have been told to conserve energy for the attacking zones
 
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