Million Dollar Man: Is Kalyn Ponga red and blue, Redcliffe or misread?

“Dolphins, Dolphins, Dolphins, Dolphiiiiins, I’m begging of you please don’t take my man.”

With apologies to Dolly Parton, Knights fans have been singing this refrain since the team that’s totally not from Redcliffe was announced as the 17th NRL franchise last October.

The Dolphins have got almost a total salary cap to spend and word is they’re ready to drop a substantial amount of it on making Kalyn Ponga the face of their club, leaving red and blue supporters to beg, “Please don’t take him just because you can.”

And why wouldn’t the Dolphins target the Newcastle – and Queensland – fullback? He’s got just about everything you want in a marquee player.

A freakish talent on the field whose running and passing games are truly elite, he also as a kicking game and his leadership skills have progressed to the point he’s been named the Knights’ team captain.

(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

Perhaps the element of his game for which he doesn’t receive enough credit is his toughness. Ponga is willing to put his body on the line and when he takes a hit – which, as the most targeted man in his club side, he does frequently and often in highly questionable circumstances – he just gets back up and keeps going.

We saw a classic case of it on Monday night, the fullback getting absolutely ironed out by Bulldogs tyro Declan Casey. Great shot, nothing wrong with it, but also the kind that leaves players on their hands and knees trying to find their wits and a bit of air.

But Ponga was straight back to his feet and ran 100 metres to be on his team’s tryline to defend the following tackle (which admittedly was Jayden Okunbor getting inside a wrong-footed Ponga to score a try, but at least he showed a jersey).

Not for nothing either but his beauty is beyond compare, with flaming locks of auburn hair, his smile is like a breath of spring, his voice is soft like summer rain…

(Okay, I’m done now, I promise.)

Basically, Ponga is a modern rugby league dream, with the kind of on-field talent that guarantees bums on seats, and an off-field look and demeanour that has sponsors falling over themselves to splash their entire marketing budget on your club if it means KP will be seen wearing their logo.

So yeah, I can understand why the Dolphins want to drop unheard of money – reportedly as much as $1.5 million a season – to get him up to the Sunshine State.

And yeah, that makes Knights fans worried.

Me? I’m not so concerned. Well, at least, not so concerned about the Dolphins.

When the Knights signed Ponga at the end of 2016, they had just finished season two of their wooden spoon hat trick, so needed to pay the then-teenager a whole lot of moolah – reportedly as much as $3 million over four years if he activated various bonuses.

It was a crazy sum for an 18-year-old who had played two games of first grade and it blew the Cowboys’ offer out of the water.

This time around, his incumbent club aren’t going to be outgunned. I doubt Newcastle could pony up $1.5 million, but with his current salary said to be $1.1 million, they would only need to up the ante a bit more to stay competitive.

(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

But more to the point, while people are writing off the Knights’ chances of making the eight his season, they look a whole lot closer to a premiership than a club that, at the time of writing, have signed eight players, who are either veterans past their prime or unproven quantities and all who got paid overs to leave their current clubs.

If they now use around 15 per cent of their cap to get Ponga, how will they afford anyone else even half decent?

Kalyn Ponga has made it abundantly clear that he wants to win a premiership. I’m not saying the Dolphins can’t win one, but as for which club is more likely to secure a title in the next five years, the safe money is on the established club that has played consecutive years of finals.

Kalyn Ponga to the Dolphins? Nah.

But that’s not to say he’s staying put either.

If he’s motivated by money, the Dolphins’ offer would be tempting, but there’s a bucketload more than $1.5 million a year for top-tier rugby union players in the south of France or Japan. So why wouldn’t he just go maximise his earning potential in the 15-man game?

If, on the other hand, he has a genuine desire to lift the Provan-Summons Trophy, the Dolphins can forget about it. Ponga already spent two years helping to build an average team into one that is at least in the conversation by making the top eight – I strongly doubt he wants to do it again so soon after the last time.

Which is why I’ve got a bit of a Lance Franklin feeling about this scenario.

Remember when Buddy left Hawthorn, it was because he was going to Greater Western Sydney? Like, he just was. Everybody knew it.

And then he went to the Swans instead.

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Here, we’ve got Ponga either staying at the Knights or going to the Dolphins. Except his free-agency status isn’t dependant upon going to the new franchise, he can pack up and head wherever he likes.

So while the good people of Newcastle are looking out for raiders from Redcliffe, maybe it’s Red Hill they should really be concerned about – especially if the Knights have a rough start to the season, while Kevin Walters gets the Broncos firing on all cylinders.

Or maybe Kalyn has already made up his mind. He’s the captain of the first-grade team, he’s settled in the city, and the club shows both him and his family a level of love that hasn’t been seen since Andrew Johns – who Ponga’s now got showing him in person the finer points of being a freak at footy.

Maybe Ponga, Adam O’Brien and Phil Gardner know what’s what and are just stringing the Dolphins and the rest of the comp along, allowing them to waste energy chasing a player who’s already locked away.

KP, if that’s the case, Knights fans look forward to singing a different tune by the inestimable Ms Parton.

“I will always love you!”

Million Dollar Man series
A look at each club’s million-dollar man – the player broadly acknowledged to be taking up the largest individual chunk of the salary cap (even if they aren’t actually quite grossing seven figures).
» Can Tevita Pangai Jr finally put it all together at the Bulldogs?
» An off year or the beginning of the end for Jason Taumalolo?
» Scorned by Souths, it’s Reynolds to the rescue in Brisbane
» How much blame does Luke Brooks deserve for the Wests Tigers’ finals drought?
» Addin Fonua-Blake took the green but can he stop seeing red?
» Ben Hunt and how a single moment can define an entire career
» Jack Wighton wins awards but can he win a comp?
» Andrew Fifita’s busted knees, induced coma and $100K per game
» David Fifita, the richest benchwarmer in NRL history

Best-case scenario

Depsite two years of top-eight finishes, the Knights’ top brass regarded the club to be building toward something, with their labours starting to bear fruit around 2022.

Mitchell Pearce leaving ahead of season ’22 was not part of the plan but it’s only 12 months earlier than it was supposed to happen and while you try not to read too much into one trial game, Adam Clune looks more than capable of doing a decent job of catching, passing, kicking on the fifth and getting the hell out of KP’s way when he calls for the ball.

Jayden Brailey going down injured is the bigger problem, but in Chris Randall they’ve got a back-up hooker who may not be of the same quality but who won’t let anyone down until the club captain is fit again.

Other than those not insignificant issues, the Knights have got so much upside. Their pack is developing into one of the best in the NRL, the depth in their outside backs is such that the club’s 2021 leading try-scorer Enari Tuala needed an injury to get his chance this weekend, Jake Clifford could be a solid season and a Daly Cherry-Evans injury away from playing for Queensland, and Bradman Best and Dane Gagai make for a young-bull-old-bull centre pairing that could develop into the deadliest in the comp.

And they’ve got KP.

Put it all together and you’ve got a team running hot enough that KP extends for two years and then some by July 1, then proceeds to lead his team to a top-four finish and deep into the finals.

Worst-case scenario

Floggings and lots of ‘em.

The Knights’ first eight rounds include games against the Roosters, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Eels and Storm – AKA five of last year’s top six – as well as banana peel matches against hoodoo clubs the Tigers and Dragons.

Suddenly it’s May and the Knights are heading to Townsville to face the Cowboys in a game that looks destined to decide who will be the 2022 wooden spooners.

KP decides this isn’t for him and tells Gardner and Co. he’s taking his talents… anywhere really, he just doesn’t want to be part of this shitshow anymore.

Then he goes for a strawberry thickshake.