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Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga has put a line through his NRL season despite making progress in his recovery from a concussion.
Ponga hasn’t featured for the Knights after suffering his third concussion in the space of six weeks during a defeat to the Sydney Roosters last month.
His decision to sit out the rest of the regular season comes as a bizarre story has been reported by The Daily Telegraph which alleges the club is investigating Ponga and teammate Kurt Mann after footage emerged of them being asked to leave a toilet cubicle together.
Ponga’s father Andre was quoted in the story saying Ponga had been celebrating a recent house purchase with a few mates and after feeling sick, Mann went in to help him.
In the clip, the security guard is surprised to see Ponga emerge before both men leave quietly with their drinks. The video was filmed on Snapchat. Newcastle told AAP they were made aware of the video late on Sunday night but that they were still working to determine the reason for the pair’s run-in with security.
“The Newcastle Knights have been informed of a matter involving current players,” the Knights said in a statement on Monday afternoon.
“Knights’ management has commenced a process to gather all the required facts. Until such time no further comment will be provided.”
The Knights are as yet unsure when the clip was filmed.
On the concussion front, the Queensland State of Origin star has been working with specialists to determine his recovery process.
After suffering headaches and forgetfulness following his latest head knock, Ponga says he’s showing no symptoms now.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Despite looking on track to have the all-clear for a playing return by Round 24, with the Knights already out of the finals race, Ponga said a cautious approach would be taken.
“I’d be sweet for the last round but doing no contact for the year, it probably would be a wise thing not to play the last round,” Ponga told Triple M Newcastle radio.
“My season’s done. It’s a bit weird. I feel OK now. At the start I felt a bit weird, headaches and whatnot, but I feel alright now.
“It’s just hard. I feel OK. I feel fit. I want to play but I guess I’m just going through the protocols at the moment.”
Ponga’s decision would make it hard for the fullback to prove his form and fitness for selection in Australia’s World Cup squad.
The 24-year-old, who signed a five-year contract with the Knights earlier this year, said the Kangaroos hadn’t factored into his decision-making but he hadn’t ruled out being a part of Mal Meninga’s squad if chosen.
“I haven’t really spoken to the club or had much thought about that,” he said. “It’s probably something I’ll think about or touch on in coming weeks. I haven’t had the conversation with anyone yet about anything to do with the World Cup.”
Despite the concerning amount of head knocks he’d endured in 2022, Ponga was confident the issue wouldn’t impact his career long-term based on the advice he’s received from experts.
“It is tough. I feel sweet. There’s nothing wrong with me,” he said. “I can’t feel anything but I just have to trust the process that’s ahead of me.”
The Warriors fan who has become a cult hero for his “shoey” antics has not been banned from attending matches after there were reports that he was potentially facing a lifetime suspension from Mt Smart Stadium.
Calley Gibbons, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Dragons prop Aaron Woods, has been getting plenty of attention on social media after TV cameras have captured him downing a beer from his shoe when they have panned towards the coaches box.
The 31-year-old Auckland brickie told Newstalk ZB that he was flummoxed after being removed from the venue by an overzealous security guard during the final stages of Friday night’s emphatic win over the Bulldogs.
“I got escorted out about 15 minutes in but luckily there was a pub down the road so I headed there and finished watching the game,” he said.
“Pretty much every year when they’ve gone to the coaches’ box I’ve always stood up and given a wave or a finger point or sculled a beer. But after more than a thousand days of not playing at home I thought I’d do something different and give the crowd a bit of a laugh about it.
“Honestly it was just one security guard in particular. Before we get into it I want it to be known I don’t want him to get in trouble in his mind he probably thought he was doing a bang-up job. But I think he’s just overstepped the mark a bit and for lack of a better term had some form of power trip … I don’t know.
“I honestly don’t know what the whole situation was for but he came up to me after trying to shift us from the seats and he said ‘if you drink out of that shoe, you’re gone’. And I said ‘what law am I breaking? Who am I hurting here?’.
“I wasn’t intoxicated. I purchased the drink from the venue, I should be allowed to consume it how I want. Bottle, cup or shoe.”
Despite being told by the security guard he would be receiving a lifetime ban, he said he’d been assured he will be allowed to watch the Warriors’ last remaining home game, against the Titans, on September 3. The club has even put out an official media release about him being allowed back.
Knights Immortal Andrew Johns on the Sunday Footy Show was perplexed that any sanction had been handed down when told of the supposed lifetime ban.
“Honestly, the fun police, it’s rugby league. It’s not ballet. And you know who he’s doing the shoey in front of. Stacey Jones, I’m sure he’s going I wish I could have the shoey,” he said.
Gibbons said every time he is shown on TV doing a shoey that he would donate $100 to the I Am Hope foundation to help raise awareness over mental health.
Penrith second-rower Liam Martin could line up as soon as Thursday night after scans cleared him of a serious ankle injury.
Martin’s season appeared in doubt when he landed awkwardly on his ankle in the second half of the Panthers’ loss to Melbourne on Thursday.
The State of Origin representative played no further part in the game and wore a moon boot post-match.
The Panthers initially suspected a long-term injury and were bracing for the possibility of making a run at consecutive premierships without their first-choice right second-rower.
But Martin has since been cleared of serious damage and was able to run 100 metre sprints unassisted at training on Sunday.
Club officials on Monday told AAP that Martin was now a possibility for Thursday night’s match against in-form South Sydney, but that he still had a slight limp and remained in some doubt.
Dylan Edwards, who missed the 16-0 loss to the Storm with a sternum injury, has a chance of returning for the game after training at fullback on Sunday.
Winger Taylan May is likely to need at least another week to recover from a shoulder injury but is no longer wearing a sling.
Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell is expected to be fit despite failing to finish training on Monday.
Mitchell appeared to injure his groin during a training drill and received treatment but club officials are confident he will take his place at fullback for the crucial clash.
Elsewhere, Cronulla prop Toby Rudolf is set to miss the first week of the finals after suffering an MCL tear against Wests Tigers in Tamworth on Saturday evening.
Rudolf landed awkwardly midway through the second half and played no further part in the game. The Sharks confirmed on Monday afternoon he would miss four weeks of football.
Royce Hunt and Braden Hamlin-Uele appear the most likely to start in the front row in his absence.
Roosters forward Angus Crichton is adamant he will remain at the Roosters on a two-year deal despite the contract being held up by NRL red tape due to concerns over the club’s salary cap.
The NSW second-rower told Channel Nine that he never wanted to leave the club to play elsewhere in the NRL or return to rugby union and was confident the matter would be sorted soon.
One of the NRL’s few genuine stars who is off contract at the end of this season, he will now be fully focused on the Roosters’ playoff charge after they have marched into eighth spot on the back of five straight wins.
“I think we’re really close to finalising something, hopefully in the next little bit I’ll sign on for the next two years so that’s exciting,” he said.
“It has been tough during the year to have that hanging over my head. To get it sorted it’ll be a massive weight off my shoulders and I can just focus on my footy.”
Crichton is a strong contender to make the Australian squad for the World Cup at the end of the year.
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