Ponga stays a Knight: Star’s epic contract saga to end with mega Newy deal

Barring any eleventh-hour raids from rival NRL clubs or even rugby union, Kalyn Ponga is set to pledge himself to the Newcastle Knights by signing a monster new deal with the club, to the tune of around $1,200,000 a season.

Newcastle’s Knight in shining armour is expected to put pen to paper this week.

The Sporting Base understands Ponga, still just 24, had a final meeting with Wayne Bennett last Saturday. In the meeting, Kalyn and father-come-agent Andre sounded out Redcliffe’s final offer. It wasn’t enough, however, to sway the star — according to sources close to the Queenslander, he’ll be signing a monster contract extension with the Knights instead.

Monster is the only word for it too. Media sources are reporting Ponga could be looking at a major bump, up to around $1,100,000 to $1,200,000 a season to pull on the iconic Hunter red-and-blue. This deal would tally up to nearly $6m over five years.

The new contract will override Ponga’s old deal with the Knights, which was originally set to end in late 2024. The 24-year-old had two years in his favour boiled into that original agreement too.

Ponga was far from his explosive self against the Sharks last round and was basically a passenger as his Knights were held to nil last Friday. Cronulla, on the other hand, ran in three tries and clocked up an 18-0 margin to continue their red-hot start to the 2022 NRL season.

Newcastle’s fullback admitted his side was “clunky” from the get-go.

“Wasn’t too happy [with the loss] … but it’s good to be back. I’m happy to be back,” Ponga said. “I’d like to win though. From the start, we were a bit off, a bit clunky.

“And then,” he added, “in the second half when we opened up a bit it felt like we got back in our rhythm a little bit. And then with 12 men on the field, it made it hard again. But yeah, on to the next week.”

Fill In The Form To Get Our NRL News Straight To Your Email For FREE!

• Facebook
  This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
• First Name*
• Last Name*
• Email*

Δ