https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/po...tay-at-newcastle-knights-20200525-p54w5q.html
The Newcastle Knights are on the verge of securing the club's most important signature in over two decades, with superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga agreeing to a new deal with the club.
The
Herald has been told by sources close to negotiations that Ponga has opted to put his All Blacks dream on hold and will ink a $1.1m-a-season deal with Newcastle.
Newcastle poster boy Kalyn Ponga is set to sign a new deal with the Knights.CREDIT:GRANT TROUVILLE/NRL IMAGERY
The Knights are finalising the length of the extension, which could be for as long as five years to keep him at the club until 2025.
An announcement on the deal, which will make Ponga one of the top five highest-paid players in the NRL, is expected as early as the end of this week.
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The signing is a major boost for the Knights, who will now build the club's future around the Queensland State of Origin No.1. Ponga was originally contracted until 2021, with an option in his favour for 2022. He has now triggered that option and has upgraded and extended his deal.
Ponga's father Andre has been negotiating with the Knights for the past couple of months since the split with former agent Wayde Rushton, who also lost Latrell Mitchell as a client at around the same time.
Kalyn Ponga is expected to be a mainstay of the Queensland State of Origin team for many years. CREDIT:AAP
Ponga was giving strong consideration to walking out on rugby league to pursue a potential spot with the New Zealand All Blacks in time for the 2023 World Cup in France, however the 22-year-old's desire to win a premiership with the Knights outweighed his rugby union ambition.
All Blacks legend Sir John Kirwan told the Herald in February that Ponga faced an uphill battle trying to crack it into an already established New Zealand team with just one season under his belt before the 2023 World Cup.