- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
Just last year Kalyn Ponga was the incumbent Queensland custodian, and plans could be said were made for him to get the best of fullback coaching from Queensland head coach Billy Slater.
Fast forward a year later, and Slater had to make one of the toughest calls of his initial years as a coach. The Queensland great opted to give 20-year-old Broncos fullback Reece Walsh his shot at the 1 jersey, something that sent shockwaves through the league community.
Many thought that Ponga deserved the fullback spot and believed he cemented his place in the side, through typical gutsy Queenslander performances in the last couple of years.
However, form and his experimental switch at Newcastle from fullback to five-eighth, compounded by a string of concession assessments, derailed Ponga’s Origin chances.
There was a new breed of fullback the Broncos were nurturing, from a club that produced fullback greats like Darren Lockyer, Karmichael Hunt, at some time Josh Hoffman, then another club legend Darius Boyd.
After experimenting with different fullbacks last season, Kevin Walters finally decided to give Reece Walsh a call and the rest has now amounted to his immense success with the club with form that’s pushed Brisbane’s drive for a premiership this year.
Walsh earned his selection for Queensland through hard work, commitment, and behind the scenes hard work to improve his game. Ponga, however, was a part of a million-dollar Knights extension contract saga, combined with a refusal to take up an offer by super coach Wayne Bennett, and to basically be under the influence of one of the game’s elite coaches.
Just imagine what could have been for Ponga.
We don’t have to imagine, though. Enter Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow: initially a incumbent starter at the Cowboys at fullback, with the addition of Scott Drinkwater, the Hammer was granted a positional shift to the centres.
Ponga could have been Bennet’s first-choice fullback for the inaugural Dolphins and turning him down for a bigger slice of the pie in the Hunter.
He threw away his chance of basically ever having the best coaching and a pathway that would improve his form and see him probably have been Queensland’s number one choice this year.
Why this reporter states this opinion is due to the fact that Tabuai-Fidow has performed considerably well as a fullback with the Dolphins. His form earned him another selection headache for coach Billy Slater. Tabuai-Fidow and Reece Walsh fought hard and won their Queensland jerseys.
Ponga was seen as the face of Newcastle in his form days. His father, who is also part of Ponga’s management, could be forgiven for putting his family ahead of his own career development, something Kalyn should find motivation in to deliver those show-stopping, game-breaking performances we are always expecting from him.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.