Kalyn Ponga makes a mockery of WILD speculation he was unwanted by the Knights by re-signing with Newcastle for five years on deal worth at least $1million a season
- Feverish rumours claimed Knights had withdrawn offer to Ponga over weekend
- Ponga signed a rich five-year extension with Newcastle on Wednesday
- Fullback will earn at least $1million a year over the life of the deal
Kalyn Ponga has put an end to fevered speculation about his NRL future, announcing that he will remain with Newcastle on a new five-year contract.
The deal, announced on Wednesday, removes any threat of the 24-year-old linking up with the Wayne Bennett-led Dolphins when they enter the NRL next year.
Ponga was one of the Dolphins’ primary targets and the 17th club is now expected to heavily chase under-contract Melbourne five-eighth Cameron Munster.
The fullback had until June 1 to inform Knights management of his decision to exercise an option in his contract to stay at the club in 2023.
Ponga – seen here evading a tackler in Sunday’s loss to the Dragons – made a mockery of rumours he wasn’t wanted by the Knights as he signed for the long term on Wednesday
It had been claimed the game-breaking fullback was on the outer with the Knights over concerns about demands made by his father Andre, and his dip in form in 2022
The player options in the final two years (2023, 2024) of his four-year deal, which he signed in 2020, yielded all the negotiating power to the Queensland State of Origin representative.
The clauses allowed Ponga the chance to walk out on the club at short notice to switch codes to rugby union or link with another club such as the Dolphins.
Bennett recently met the Knights fullback in an attempt to lure him to the club for their inaugural NRL campaign.
The announcement should mean Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster (pictured) is now firmly in the sights of the Dolphins expansion team
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett met with Ponga earlier in the season, setting off some controversy, but is known to be a huge fan of Munster’s
But the new Knights deal eliminates those clauses and the chance for Ponga to switch clubs until the end of the 2027 season.
This week it was reported that Newcastle had withdrawn a three-year offer to Ponga, in part because his father Andre was putting senior figures at the club offside with his demand that he control the timing of any announcement about his son’s future.
That rumour was put to Ponga and Knights coach Adam O’Brien after their loss to the Dragons on Sunday, prompting a furious and blunt response.
‘Ridiculous. I had breakfast this morning and apparently we were signing Cameron Munster.
‘I can’t keep up with you guys [the media]. Fair dinkum.’
It was also rumoured Newcastle didn’t want to go ahead with the deal due to worries over Ponga’s form, which has suffered this year as he deals with a knee injury that kept him out of the Knights’ round two win over Wests Tigers.
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