Kalyn Ponga just showed Knights all-important key to unlocking NRL finals

The Knights may well have just found their key to making finals, and going deep into September to boot, and it comes — no surprise here — in the form of their explosive young fullback, Kalyn Ponga, and how he impacts every NRL game.

It’s no secret the Knights have had a tough start to the year.

The team’s injury list has been half an arm long since the season started, with Lachlan Fitzgibbon (shoulder), Ponga (knee), Hymel Hunt (hamstring), and more all benched for major stints. Halves star Pearce is still out too, until round 16 at least.

On-field efforts have been less than stellar too. Nine rounds in, the Hunter club is adrift in tenth, with a 4-5 record, including rocky losses to the Dragons and the Bulldogs.

There’s been plenty of question marks raised of the red and blue royalty, especially considering they’ve brought in Craig Bellamy disciple Adam O’Brien to lead the march back to playoffs. A whimpering run-out against the Tigers had faith heads dip, while tough back-to-back loses to the Panthers and Roosters made many think Newy may not even make the eight.

Last week in Wagga Wagga, however, the Knights found their key to victory.

Now, we here at The Sporting Base know it’s no great secret that “Kalyn Ponga” as the key to winning at McDonald Jones Stadium would surprise absolutely nobody.

The 23-year-old is an honest-to-god superstar.

Ponga has already racked up 34 tries in 73 games — an incredible strike rate for a fullback — and laid on a monster 38 assists in the same games too. On top of that, he’s slotted home 131 goals.

And that’s just his attacking stats; anyone who’s watched Ponga plays knows he’s magic. The Mackay junior’s goosey step is fast becoming just as iconic as the Benji flick; when he gets his hands on the footy, you know that something is about to happen.

Ponga, at just 23 years young, is already a certified NRL game-breaker.

On the weekend, he showed how AOB must use him too. The Knights found themselves 16–nil down, and it looked like the Raiders had done enough to net themselves two points in Wagga Wagga.

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Enter Ponga. More specifically, enter Ponga one pass early.

Every time Brailey fired out from the ruck in the second half, the ball went to Ponga, left or right. The Knights fullback injected himself straight into the line, playing a faux-halfback role straight off the bat. Normally, this role would go to Mitchell Pearce. With Phoenix Crossland and Kurt Mann in the 6 and 7 though, it gave Ponga licence to play.

This is the key to victory of the Knights. Whether Pearce is back or not, Ponga must be getting the ball one out from the play-the-ball, where he can sow the most chaos, and play right or left.

Ponga may well be to go to the halfback. He chose to feed Crossland regularly. Other times, he’ll see the gap no one else did, or the defender back on their heels.

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With the footy in his hand already, there’s no chance for the defending team to read the play; Ponga can create that special spark he’s become so renowned for, in a flash, and control the game.

It worked once already, as the Knights staged a 40-point reversal in round 9. It took them within touching distance of seventh. Not just that, it also gives them a chance to climb even higher ahead of the Origin bonanza that will see “KP” pulled into Queensland camp.

At the very least, Pearce is out until round 14, maybe 16 if the Knights are unlucky.

Until then, let Kalyn play the footy he wants to play.

Make the team his, and let him have free reign whenever the Knights are on the front foot. It’s been tested once before — Nathan Brown foresaw the 23-year-old in no.6 jumper — but bringing him right into the line isn’t the key in defence. Let him play as 5/8 in attack, then slot him back to the rearguard.

Up next for the Knights: the Tigers and Cowboys, both on the road, then arch-rivals Manly at home. Perfect tests to see if Kalyn Ponga truly can add an extra inch to his game with the ball wrapped up in his hands, goosey step at the ready.

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Then, post-Origin, halfback Pearce returns. Let Mitchell Pearce deploy the fifth-tackle options. Every tackle before that though, get the ball to Ponga early, and watch him run the show.

Update: Since this article went live, the Knights confirmed Ponga has been ruled out for two weeks; the fullback has suffered an abductor injury in training. We’ll have to see this plan post-Origin!

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