How ‘penny finally dropped’ a decade after Ponga video stunned NRL
It was this time a decade ago that a young, fleet-footed teenager with an insane amount of hype around him received a late call-up to make his NRL debut for the Cowboys in a narrow semi-final loss to the Broncos.
Those who followed schoolboy rugby and lower grades in the 13-man code had heard the name Kalyn Ponga for quite some time and knew he was a star in the making, just ready to burst onto the scene with North Queensland.
Kalyn Ponga during his NRL debut in 2016. NRL Images/Scott Davis
Ponga was one of the most prodigious young talents in the country and had some very famous YouTube highlights before he had even finished high school, showing him in action for Brisbane’s Anglican Church Grammar – the same place where the likes of Quade Cooper, Karmichael Hunt and David Pocock learned their craft.
In fact, that initial highlights package of Ponga goosestepping and burning his high school rivals has since racked up 2.5 million views over a dozen years.
Fast-forward to the 2026 finals series and Ponga is a different player.
Not because of his skill set, footwork or speed – all of that is still there for the man now leading the Newcastle Knights – but instead because of a changed mindset.
From the outside looking in, it always felt like Ponga was able to largely coast on natural, God-given talent for much of his NRL career.
The 28-year-old won a Dally M Medal three years ago, has taken the Knights to a few finals series, but has gone through ups and downs along the way.
There had been question marks over his laid-back attitude, his desire to captain the Knights, his commitment to the club and rugby league in general.
Links to the Sydney Roosters or a return to rugby union to potentially don the famous All Blacks jersey never went away, regardless of how many years Ponga had left on his deal with the Knights at any given time.
But the first sign of Ponga’s commitment and change in mindset came when he brushed aside convoluted contract options at the Knights and potential interest from rival clubs, re-signing until the end of 2030 earlier this year.
It was seen as a huge endorsement for new coach Justin Holbrook and silenced any noise about Ponga’s future, while also showing faith in the direction the Knights were heading, just months removed from a wooden spoon.
Ponga’s extension gave confidence to those around him and for every win the Knights registered this season, belief continued to grow.
When the side lost both Dylan Lucas and Dylan Brown to injury in the same game, many questioned if the air was about to come out of the Knights’ balloon.
Instead, they rallied and took a siege mentality into the latter rounds, cementing a top-eight spot, before going into an elimination final with South Sydney as the clear underdogs due to a mounting injury and suspension toll.
But for all the brilliance in the Rabbitohs line-up last week, Ponga outshone them all with a remarkable individual display that captivated fans and experts alike, guiding the Knights towards a 26-16 victory at Allianz Stadium.
Kalyn Ponga makes a break against the Rabbitohs. NRL Images/Gregg Porteous
Andrew Johns said the superstar fullback’s form this season has coincided with a change in attitude and becoming a “totally different” person away from the field.
“Talking to Danny Buderus, in the last two years he said there’s been a change and he’s just so dialled in,” the club legend said on Nine’s Freddy and The Eighth.
“The knock on Kalyn from the outside is that he doesn’t care, he’s laid-back and so relaxed ... but the last two years it’s just a totally different Kalyn Ponga.
“On the weekend, he was just out of this world. He’s beyond a superstar.”
There are few in the NRL who have the star-power of Ponga, who boasts nearly 400,000 Instagram followers and has endorsements coming out the wazoo.
In fact, the only players with more followers on the social media platform are Reece Walsh (695k), Nathan Cleary (518k) and Latrell Mitchell (411k).
Ponga has also become the face of the sport in Newcastle, is one of Queensland’s most recognisable players around State of Origin time and later this year, will lead the New Zealand Kiwis into a blockbuster Rugby League World Cup.
Kalyn Ponga has been a standout at Origin level. Getty Images
But according to Phil Gould, it has taken time for Ponga to realise his full potential and the true impact he can have on those around him.
“He has absolutely always been elite, but his career at different times has been put on hold due to injury and he went through a bad concussion period,” Gould said on Wide World Of Sports’ Six Tackles With Gus this week.
“There seems to be a new-found intensity about him. He’s always been very much a natural player, but in his own personality, likes to get away from the game and I wouldn’t mark him down as a great student of the game.
“I think in the last 12 or 18 months, there’s been a renewed enthusiasm for him within his role in the team and his status within the game and the effect he can have on a game. You’ve got to be a student to not just know how to get the best out of yourself, but get the best out of your teammates.
“I’ve got no doubt that when he was younger, not that the game came easy to him, but the game was only a part of his life – he wasn’t purely obsessed with the game and because he handled it so comfortably, he didn’t need the preparation and study that others did, it was purely natural to him.
“The penny has finally dropped for him about who Kalyn Ponga should be in this game and he’s now immersed himself in the system of rugby league.
“The power he possesses goes well beyond his ability to run, kick, pass or tackle ... his influence on the game can be far more than that.”
Kalyn Ponga was all smiles last weekend. NRL Images/Gregg Porteous
The impact Ponga has on his Knights teammates isn’t lost on them either.
As five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe put it, Ponga can make everyone else look good.
“He’s a freak and I definitely love having him on our team, that’s for sure,” Sharpe told media including nine.com.au after the win over South Sydney.
“Sometimes you can just give him the ball when nothing’s on and he just provides something – it kind of makes me look good sometimes.”
Ponga isn’t doing it alone with Newcastle and the side have a plethora of strike attacking weapons including Sharpe, Bradman Best and Dom Young.
This season, the Knights have scored more tries from inside their own half than any other team in the competition and Ponga’s brilliance is a factor in that.
“The style of footy that Justin has brought to us plays into that strength and gives our edges a lot more ball, gives Braddy and KP a lot more ball,” Sharpe said.
“The more chances you can give them to create something, they’re gonna create something eventually. I’m really enjoying the style we’re playing.”
Newcastle will enter enemy territory on Sunday afternoon for a sudden-death semi final against the Warriors at Eden Park, where nearly 50,000 screaming fans will be backing the Auckland-based side towards a grand final qualifier.
But regardless of the result, those same Warriors fans will be hitching their wagon to the new and improved Ponga when he debuts for New Zealand, with the hopes of helping the national side to only their second World Cup triumph.
It would be a tremendous win for the Knights if they can pull it off this weekend and if they do, Ponga will undoubtedly have his fingerprints all over it.
