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Kalyn Ponga ends speculation of cross-code All Blacks move with new NRL deal

(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

Kalyn Ponga has put an end to fevered speculation about his NRL future, announcing that he will remain with Newcastle on a new five-year contract.

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The deal, announced on Wednesday, removes any threat of the 24-year-old linking up with the Wayne Bennett-led Dolphins when they enter the NRL next year.

Ponga was one of the Dolphins’ primary targets and the 17th club is now expected to heavily chase under-contract Melbourne five-eighth Cameron Munster.

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What the All Blacks squad could look like halfway through Super Rugby Pacific | Aotearoa Rugby Pod

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What the All Blacks squad could look like halfway through Super Rugby Pacific | Aotearoa Rugby Pod

Ponga had until June 1 to inform Knights management of his decision to exercise an option in his contract to stay at the club in 2023.

The player options in the final two years (2023, 2024) of his four-year deal, which he signed in 2020, yielded all the negotiating power to the Queensland State of Origin representative.

The clauses allowed Ponga the chance to walk out on the club at short notice to switch codes to rugby union or link with another club such as the Dolphins.

Bennett recently met the Knights fullback in an attempt to lure him to the club for their inaugural NRL campaign.

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But the new Knights deal eliminates those clauses and the chance for Ponga to switch clubs until the end of the 2027 season.

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J
JW 17 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

This piece is nothing more than the result of revisionist fancy of Northern Hemisphere rugby fans. Seeing what they want to see, helped but some surprisingly good results and a desire to get excited about doing something well.


I went back through the 6N highlights and sure enough in every English win I remembered seeing these exact holes on the inside, that are supposedly the fallout out of a Felix Jones system breaking down in the hands of some replacement. Every time the commentators mentioned England being targeted up the seam/around the ruck or whatever. Each game had a try scored on the inside of the blitz, no doubt it was a theme throughout all of their games. Will Jordan specifically says that Holland had design that move to target space he saw during their home series win.


Well I'm here to tell you they were the same holes in a Felix Jones system being built as well. This woe is now sentiment has got to stop. The game is on a high, these games have been fantastic! It is Englands attack that has seen their stocks increase this year, and no doubt that is what SB told him was the teams priority. Or it's simply science, with Englands elite players having worked towards a new player welfare and management system, as part of new partnership with the ERU, that's dictating what the players can and can't put their bodies through.


The only bit of truth in this article is that Felix is not there to work on fixing his defence. England threw away another good chance of winning in the weekend when they froze all enterprise under pressure when no longer playing attacking footy for the second half. That mindset helped (or not helped if you like) of course by all this knee jerk, red brained criticism.

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LONG READ 'Steve Borthwick hung his troops out to dry - he should take some blame' 'Steve Borthwick hung his troops out to dry - he should take some blame'
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