Newcastle star Kalyn Ponga says he did not mean to be disrespectful with his now infamous “thickshake” line and has defended ex-Knights coach Nathan Brown, insisting his former mentor never lost the playing group.
Ponga fronted Fox League’s Thursday Night Football to address a horror week, including his now-infamous response to news that Brown was leaving the NRL club.
The Queensland fullback made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he fronted the media last week following the shock news Brown was leaving and said: “I was at lunch having a nice strawberry thickshake, so I wasn’t too sad.”
Ponga admitted on Thursday night he had handled the interview badly.
“I can understand the way it came across,” he said.
“I spoke to Browny before that interview, he addressed the playing group and said, ‘Don’t make it a big deal of it’.
“Me being me, I came out, made that comment at probably the wrong time in the wrong manner and it’s been take a little out of perspective.”
Ponga’s quip drew harsh criticism but the Newcastle star said there had been no hard feelings with Brown.
(AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
“Browny’s done a lot for me and after that interview I spoke to him again and he sort of addressed me and said, ‘Look kid, I understand our relationship’,” he said.
“He’s been awesome to myself, my family, my mum, dad, little sister. His family is also close to me.
“He knew it wasn’t disrespectful, but that wasn’t the way it came across.”
Ponga said his horror week had been a “learning curve”.
“I think when you’re questioned about your playing ability and the way you play, I can cop that,” he said.
“When you’re questioned about your integrity, who you are as a person, it doesn’t only affect you but also your parents.
“My mum and dad were pretty disappointed (with the thickshake comment) – my mum razzed me a couple of times which is fair.
“They know what I’m like as well and they know that whatever I say I never mean to be disrespectful to anyone.
“That’s just who I am. At the end of the day, they knew that.”
Brown had appeared to lose the Knights players, compounded by their 46-4 last round thrashing from the Wests Tigers, before he finally fell on his sword and walked away from the NRL club this week.
But Ponga said the players had Brown’s back.
“He never lost the group. That wasn’t the case at all,” he said.
“We knew we had two weeks with him and that we had a job to do and that was sort of the way he’d been preaching it as well.
“We were disappointed with the (Tigers) game. A lot of questions, not a lot of answers to that performance.”
Ponga said the Knights players had this week rallied around each other with captain Mitchell Pearce, David Klemmer and Tim Glasby leading the way.
“I haven’t been exposed to anything like this and for a couple of them, they haven’t either,” he said.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Yes we know that Ponga tried to be a satirical clown, which is a very strange thing to do to someone as he said '“Browny’s done a lot for me blah blah blah'! But and what I would have thought (after listening to allot of his interviews) that Kalyn Ponga was more intelligent then that! That is what shocked me and surprised me! It sounded bad and very disrespectful, surely, this was not his first interview for the NRL media, surely saing “I was at lunch having a nice strawberry thickshake, so I wasn’t too sad.” didnt come across as a compliment to Brown, surely Kaylan knew what was going on? I expected him to be more intelligent and have more manners, which is why I'm sure allot of people that criticise him, are blowing up about and object to!
Adam
Roar Guru
Seriously I'm finding it hard to be a Ponga fan now
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
Absolutely! Even in a tub of Neapolitan ice cream you'll find that vanilla has to be placed in the middle to stop chocolate from really giving it to strawberry. Yep, a weak, weak flavour......
The Barry
Roar Guru
Worst of all the flavours...
Insider
Roar Rookie
Ponga reminds me of a strawberry thick shake, plays like one too
Adam
Roar Guru
Who buys a strawberry thickshake anyway? Surely that's the real story...
John
Guest
The legs this story grew only highlighted how desperate the media was to concoct some sort of outrage. Truly disgusting.
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
A bit of a media beat up this story. (.....if you want to see what people think about NRL media 'personalities' just google 'Danny Weidler') :stoked:
Emcie
Roar Guru
I think you just answered why this happens mate. A weeks worth of sensationalised stories culminating in a mini tell-all exclusive that's now copy and pasted in every newspaper in the country off, all off the back of a kid mentioning a thick shake? Its a league journos wet dream. The guy that quit is probably stoked that the guy he handed in his notice to was copping all the heat before that too...
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The ex players and others who were fooled into thinking that Ponga's off the cuff words meant anything must not have been listening to him when he's opened his mouth before. I remember when he was interviewed after his first SOO game having been thrown in the deep end and almost winning the game for his team whether he was ''blown away'' or something like that at the intensity and speed (words to that effect) and he said ''not really''. He's not following the pack and repeating what others have said in the past and many expect him to say. I hope he keeps it up. Gallen and James Graham are similar and Sam Burgess even had the ''gall'' to say player behaviour is better than ever. With the thirst for news and the 24 hour news cycle anything will be blown up . When Bennett lies his head off , plenty get sucked into his words . Probably explains why he does it.
BA Sports
Roar Guru
Such a non-story. The media boffins cared but no one else really did. If he had a history of being disrespectful, then okay, it is a story. But clearly that isn't who the kid is. All the Telegraph and Fox did was improve the chances, however slightly, that the kid turns to NZ Union instead of staying in the NRL.
The Barry
Roar Guru
This is one of the craziest rugby league stories of the year. A 21 year old faced with a serious, probably emotional no doubt difficult question makes a flippant remark about a strawberry milkshake and we get a weeks worth of “week from hell” stories. Fair dinkum. The blokes that axed the coach three weeks before an active semi final campaign must be stoked at how much heat Ponga’s remarks have taken off them.