Parramatta loss will be good for Ponga: Hastings

Jasper Bruce | May 2, 2023

Newcastle halfback Jackson Hastings believes a tough night against Parramatta could be the making of Kalyn Ponga on his journey to make the five-eighth position his own.

Club legend Andrew Johns described Friday’s 43-12 loss as one of the worst defensive performances he had seen from a Knights side and in his first full game since recovering from concussion, Ponga was one of the guiltiest parties.

The State of Origin representative switched to the halves from fullback this season to have more involvement in attack but the move comes with the added pressure of defending in the frontline.

In his first full game at five-eighth, Ponga finished with 10 missed tackles and was notably beaten by Mitch Moses on a line break that led to the Eels’ sixth try.

With the football, Ponga was not involved in either of Newcastle’s tries and ran for only 77 metres to go with three kicks.

“People will have their opinions on what happened, but a lesser person would’ve just sat back and pulled themselves completely out of the game,” Hastings said.

“He went and chased it.

“You can’t look at one player, you’ve got to look at 1-17. He’s been around the block, he’s a talented kid and he’ll bounce back.

“That game will be one he looks back on and it’s a learning curve.

“He hasn’t experienced anything like that I don’t think and it’ll be good for him.

“When I say it’ll be good for him, he’s got to take his lessons. We’ve all got to take our lessons.”

For Newcastle, the chief lesson was not to assume Ponga can always play the Knight in shining armour.

“We can’t just rely on Kalyn to win us the game all the time, we’ve got to help him out,” Hastings said.

As their NRL rivals prepare to converge on Brisbane for Magic Round, the Knights have their first bye of the season in round ten and Ponga has vowed to spend the time righting the wrongs of the loss.

“A lot of boys are probably going to go away for a bit with their families and take some time to reflect. He has already locked in for three or four sessions off the bat,” Hastings said.

“He’s a committed fella.

“Not many people backed him to make the switch (to five-eighth). We’ve backed him, he’s backed himself and that’s the most important thing, that he’s willing to put the time and effort into it.

“It hasn’t helped that he’s been inconsistent with being able to train due to head knocks and a calf injury in the pre-season. He’s too talented to stay down for too long.”

Hastings has been cleared of injury after tweaking his shoulder against Parramatta but utility Kurt Mann has torn an oblique muscle and is expected to face some time on the sidelines.

The Knights have yet to put a time-frame on his return but expect it to be a matter of weeks rather than months.