Origin decider fear for injured Ponga as Raiders go top
Jack Brady |
Kalyn Ponga will be sent for scans on a foot injury after failing to finish Newcastle’s disappointing 22-18 loss to the Canberra Raiders.
Ponga left Friday night’s game after an innocuous tackle midway through the second half, in what could also be a potential blow for Queensland with the State of Origin decider at Accor Stadium less than two weeks away,
Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien confirmed that the injury was not to the same foot as the one which forced Ponga to miss seven games last season.
Dolphin Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and revitalised Broncos fullback Reece Walsh shape up as the likely candidates to replace Ponga if he were to be ruled out of Billy Slater’s squad.
“Kalyn’s tough. He doesn’t come off for much. You have to drag him off the field with a tow truck normally, so it’s probably not a good sign,” O’Brien said.
It was a night to forget from go to woe for the Knights. Their failure to score in the opening 10 minutes despite having the lion’s share of possession was a testament of what was to come.
The Raiders struck first in the 15th minute when Simi Sasagi out-enthused Ponga on a contested kick.
Canberra were able to keep their foot on Newcastle’s throat for the remainder of the first half, with swift and slick passing allowing for Kaeo Weekes and Ethan Strange to extend their side’s lead to 16 by the break.
A try by James Schiller in the 50th minute offered the Knights a glimmer of hope, but it wa extinguished eight minutes later when Strange made the most of a Newcastle error to help send Jed Stuart over for his second try in two first-grade starts
Jermaine McEwen’s first NRL four-pointer and Schiller’s second try of the game added nothing but respect to the scoreline for the Knights, with the Raiders rarely threatened throughout proceedings.
Canberra are now the clubhouse leaders of the NRL, with their four-point win enough to jump the Bulldogs on points differential into pole position.
It has been 22 years – way back in 2003 – since the Green Machine have been atop the premiership ladder this deep into the season.
“It’s a year of building a foundation. What comes of the season, our fate is in our own hands,” Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said.
“But we won’t be listening to any of the hype, the same as how we don’t listen to the criticism.
“We set ourselves some really big goals at the start of the year and it’s going to still take a lot of courage to achieve them. There’s still so much of the season to go yet, we won’t be getting ahead of ourselves.”
With two byes and clashes with the lowly Dragons (twice), Eels and a return game against the Knights scheduled over the next seven weeks, the Raiders look primed for a tilt at the minor premiership.
AAP
