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Kalyn Ponga’s push to prioritise Newcastle over Australian selection could face resistance from the NRL, with rules stating players must make themselves available for representative fixtures.
Ponga shocked league officials on Tuesday when he announced via the Knights’ website he did not want to play in the end-of-year Tests and would instead prioritise Newcastle’s pre-season training.
The fullback claimed he wanted his full focus to be on winning the Knights a premiership, while believing he had not yet proved himself to be a great signing for Newcastle.
But those plans could still potentially hit a hurdle with NRL rules dictating players must make themselves available for all representative fixtures, unless injured.
AAP has been told the uncapped Ponga was one of the players in the mix to be named in Mal Meninga’s squad for the Pacific Championships, starting October 18.
It is therefore possible Meninga could still be able to pick the 26-year-old if he wished to push the issue.
There is also every chance the NRL will seek further information from the Knights, with the potential of sanctions for clubs if players are not made available for selection without a valid reason.
Ponga also made himself unavailable for State of Origin last season, after returning from a long stint out following a concussion.
There are no such injury concerns this time, with Ponga instead desperate to return for Newcastle’s pre-season in November alongside his teammates.
“I want to win a comp, for me anything short of that, isn’t success,” Ponga said.
“My focus has never shifted from wanting to win a premiership with the Knights, that has been my goal since I joined the club in 2018 and continues to be my focus.
“When I’m done, I want to look back at my career with a positive reflection, including people saying he was a great signing and represented our community to the best of his ability.
“For now, I don’t feel like I have earned that yet. That’s why I have made this decision and will work hard every day to chase those goals.”
Ponga missed two-and-a-half months this year through a foot injury and did not reach the heights of his 2023 Dally M form until August.
But he roared back to life late, taking the Knights to the first week of the finals with 50 tackle busts and seven try assists in his last six games.
Kalyn Ponga returns. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
The Queenslander’s withdrawal means James Tedesco has firmed in his chances to hold onto his spot as Australia’s fullback and captain.
Tedesco was dropped from NSW’s State of Origin side this year, but his replacement Dylan Edwards has since battled a knee injury.
Edwards has not yet been made unavailable for post-season selection, but there is every chance his knee may need a rest after a tough campaign that began with the World Club Challenge in England.
Maroons fullback Reece Walsh has also gone off the boil late in the season.
Manly No.1 Tom Trbojevic would likely have been an option at centre for coach Mal Meninga, but he too is expected to miss the end-of-year Tests due to his shoulder injury.
Holmes suffered a leg injury in the closing stages of North Queensland’s Semi-Final loss to Cronulla on Friday night which will rule him out for 6-8 weeks while Trbojevic is also set to miss next month’s tournament to undergo shoulder surgery.
Panthers star Nathan Cleary is likely to go under the knife to get his shoulder fixed as well when his team’s finals campaign is over with his former Kangaroos halves partner Cameron Munster is another selection candidate who is set to be on the operating table rather than the playing field.
The Melbourne five-eighth has been dogged by a groin injury all season and reportedly needs an operation on his hip.
With Josh Addo-Carr and Latrell Mitchell out of the mix due to their off-field dramas, Meninga will have many of his mainstays in the backline unavailable.
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Eels halfback Mitchell Moses is considered a strong chance to make his Australian debut but he has not played since Origin III due to a biceps rupture so selecting him for the crucial spot would be a risky move.
The heavy injury toll could mean captain James Tedesco gets a reprieve and Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans gets another chance in the halves, either in the No.7 jersey or as Moses’ playmaking partner.
NSW five-eighth Jarome Luai has pledged his international allegiance to Samoa while Maroons five-eighth Tom Dearden is untried at Test level and Canterbury’s Matt Burton is another unproven commodity in the international arena.
Former Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith believes Dearden should get the gig if Munster is out of the frame while Cherry-Evans said he was available if needed by the selectors.
Meninga played Dylan Edwards on the wing last year and even though the Penrith star has leapfrogged Tedesco on the fullback pecking order at NSW, the Kangaroos could retain the Roosters skipper at fullback or switch him to wing or centre to boost the inexperienced backline.
Judging by the way Meninga was singing Tedesco’s praises after his starring role in Saturday night’s win over Manly, the incumbent captain looks like extending his rep career at Test level despite losing his Blues jersey to Edwards.
“You can’t question his ability,” Meninga said on Fox League.
“He’s a super player and a great leader. To put in a performance like that in a major game, to make the difference (was an), extraordinary performance but that’s what he’s capable of.
“In representative football you put all your best players in there and then you try and fit them in as much as you can.”
Meninga defended Tedesco by claiming he is often the scapegoat at rep level for NSW and Australia when things go awry.
With the World Cup just two years away, the Kangaroos need to start putting together a squad which can defend their crown.
But the coach said he would be picking his team for the present rather than giving players a Test jersey before they have earned it.
Parramatta-bound Dragons winger Zac Lomax is all but certain to get his first Kangaroos jersey while Dolphins speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is one of the few centre options who was fit and firing in the closing weeks of the NRL season.
Brisbane’s Kotoni Staggs is an incumbent centre after playing in last year’s 30-0 final loss to New Zealand and could get another crack in the green and gold while Newcastle’s Bradman Best was impressive in Origin III so he could also be in the frame.
Joseph Suaalii is off the selection table with the Roosters centre already declaring that he has been told he will be heading straight into Wallabies camp for the Spring Tour.
With his team going deep in the finals, a bolter like Storm centre Nick Meaney could be a chance with Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton likely to remain with Samoa.
Ben Hunt is another veteran under pressure to keep his spot with Cowboys hooker Reece Robson a younger option on the way up after an impressive Origin series for NSW.
Roosters utility Connor Watson looks set to edge out Sharks star Nicho Hynes as a bench option for the Kangaroos after an impressive first couple of Origin matches for NSW in the key interchange role.
In the forwards, Payne Haas joins Tino Fa’asuamaleaui as automatic selections who are out of the mix due to injury. Haas underwent surgery on his foot after the Broncos were eliminated from the finals equation in the second last round of the season.
Australian coach Mal Meninga. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Warriors veteran Mitchell Barnett is a strong chance to get his first taste of the international arena while Rabbitohs skipper Cameron Murray’s eligibility for the opening match of the tournament is clouded.
Souths have requested for the third match of his late-season high tackle ban to be applied for the Prime Minister’s XIII game in Papua New Guinea on October 13, only five days before the Pacific Championships kicks off.
The Kangaroos host Tonga at Suncorp Stadium on October 18 before heading to Christchurch to take on the Kiwis on October 27.
New Zealand host the Tongans in Auckland on November 2 with the final to be played at CommBank Stadium on November 10.
1 James Tedesco
2 Dylan Edwards
3 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
4 Bradman Best
5 Zac Lomax
6 Tom Dearden/Daly Cherry-Evans
7 Mitchell Moses
8 Reuben Cotter
9 Harry Grant
10 Patrick Carrigan
11 Liam Martin
12 Angus Crichton
13 Isaah Yeo
14 Reece Robson
15 Jake Trbojevic
16 Mitch Barnett
17 Lindsay Collins
Other squad members: Cameron Murray, Xavier Coates, Jeremiah Nanai, Connor Watson
with AAP
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