Myth-busting the one-man team theory: Knights should've learned Ponga lesson with Joey

Every now and then, clubs will have a player that is known as ‘the one’.

The only reason that a team will win. The magical piece that will fix everything and guarantee success.

All the stars will align when he takes the field. Time stops when he gets the ball and angels sing when he steps or kicks.

If they are ever out injured and have to miss a match, his teammates should just take the week off. No point even showing up to play.

There is no way they even know the rules of the game let alone can perform competitively without him.

And heaven forbid said saviour should move on, your club may as well just fold.

But if your team happens to be the new owner of this majestic creature, rush out and buy your grand final tickets straight away, because it is pretty much guaranteed your team will be there.

We all know this circus. I have always tried so hard not to get sucked into it, but it can be very difficult.

While celebrating having such a talent on your side, it can also put a dark cloud over a club.

You feel for the entire team when the fate of their success is placed on the shoulders of just one player. It can’t be good for the stress or performance levels of the gifted one, and it must damage morale and frustrate everyone else, feeling like they are just there to make up numbers.

I know this story all too well as a Newcastle Knights supporter. My team’s apparent success relied solely on the back of one player.

You may have heard of him, his name was Andrew Johns.

(Tony Feder/Getty Images)

Not a bad player, did pretty well. Won some awards. Became a God or had a public holiday named after him or something.

Did Johns make a difference to the Knights? Definitely. Was he an amazing player? That is an absolute understatement.

But was he the one and only reason Newcastle ever won a game or took home a premiership? Um…

While it’s impossible to deny having him on the team was a wonderful benefit, I absolutely loathed the fact that everyone thought we couldn’t win without him.

I would always relish in the games that we claimed the two points without him (granted, not many, but they were there).

When Johns eventually hung up the boots, I knew it would leave a huge hole, but I was also a bit relieved. Maybe now we could move on and become a complete package, and not just be known as a one-man team.

Now we could go on and win a few more premierships only this time Joey wouldn’t be holding up the trophy.
(Insert cricket sounds here).

OK, so we haven’t won anymore grand finals since Johns left. Was he really the one and only reason for our past success?

Or was he just a sensational player, who also had had the likes of Paul Harragon, Danny Buderus and Ben Kennedy around to help him shine?

I know I’m not the only one who has had to live through this. Cowboys fans hear it all the time when discussions turn to the great Johnathan Thurston. It’s the same with Broncos fans and Darren Lockyer.

Manly are feeling it with Tom Trbojevic, and everyone thought Souths would just forget how to play footy once Adam Reynolds moved on.

And guess what? I am back here again – this time with Kalyn Ponga.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The much-publicised hype around Ponga was that he was going to be the next big thing. He was going to be our new saviour.

Ugh. And we all know how well that is turning out.

Nothing against Ponga, he is a dead-set superstar. An unreal talent. I am so glad to have him in the red and blue.

But the pressure his is under is just ridiculous, and he is not going to be the one and only reason for our club winning.

He can’t be – the team cannot and should not revolve around one player.

And now with all the dramas surrounding his future, the poor kid must be going bonkers and everyone around him must be sick of hearing it. I know I am.

So, who is to blame for the curse of the one-man club?

The media obviously runs with the story, constantly promoting that the player of the moment is lightyears ahead of everyone and basically the glue holding the whole team together.

Us fans play our part, idolising our hero and putting them on a pedestal that they may never be able to come down from.

(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

What about the coach? How much of a role does he play in all of this? Does the whiteboard in the change rooms have just one play on it – ‘Get the ball to Bob!’

And the club? Do they put all their eggs in one basket when buying a marquee player and not think about the rest of the ingredients you need to make a cake?

I get it. All clubs strive to secure the signature of that once in a lifetime player, and I fully appreciate that they have a huge impact on a team’s success.

But not on its entire success.

We don’t have one-man teams. How boring would that game be?

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