Manly holding no grudges towards ‘great guy’ Ponga
Jasper Bruce |
Kieran Foran sympathises with Kalyn Ponga, even after he escaped suspension over the State of Origin shot that will sideline Manly’s Tolu Koula from at least two more games.
Koula returned to Sea Eagles headquarters in good spirits on Thursday morning after Ponga’s shoulder charge knocked him out of NSW’s 22-20 comeback win in the series opener.
Foran would not be drawn on the high shot that left Blues debutant Koula sprawled on the Accor Stadium turf, and led to Ponga being sent from the field.
“I don’t have a view on it, I’m not going to comment on the incident last night. I just focus on what’s happening here at club land,” Foran said.
Koula and Haumole Olakau’atu will both miss Friday night’s NRL clash against Cronulla, the latter after cramping up in the second half of his NSW recall.
“They both performed extremely well, did their state proud and certainly the club proud and themselves,” Foran said.
“They deserve a much-needed rest.”
Koula will also sit out of the round-14 clash against South Sydney, which falls within the 11-day stand-down period mandated by the NRL’s concussion rules.
But Newcastle fullback Ponga is available to face Parramatta on Saturday after being offered a $6900 fine for his grade-two shoulder charge.
In 2022, the NRL tweaked its judiciary policy such that Origin players only face suspension from club matches if they are charged with a grade-three offence.
Foran held no bitterness towards a contrite Ponga, who has already fronted the press to admit his regret over the shoulder charge.
“He’s a great guy,” Foran said of Ponga.
“No one intends to do anything like that. At the end of the day it’s rugby league. These things happen.”
Manly notably lost star fullback Tom Trbojevic to a season-ending pectoral injury during the 2023 Origin series, and now face at least a fortnight without one of their form players in Koula.
“There’s always an element of risk whenever a player goes off on rep duty, that’s just the nature of the game,” Foran said.
“You’ve just got to get on with it and make it work.”
The Sharks will take a wait-and-see approach on the availability of Briton Nikora, Addin Fonua-Blake and Blayke Brailey, who all made their Origin debuts on Wednesday.
“All things being well, we hope they play, but we won’t be taking any risks either,” said coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
With Nicho Hynes sidelined through a calf injury, Niwhai Puru becomes the fifth man in a little more than a month to make his NRL debut in the starting halves.
“He’s been plying his trade and working really hard on his game and developing. He’s been ready for some time,” Fitzgibbon said of the 23-year-old.
AAP