NRL greats slam Newcastle for playing injured captain Kalyn Ponga as star fullback faces season-ending surgery

Big questions are being asked of Newcastle’s coaching and medical staff over why injured captain Kalyn Ponga was allowed to play on Sunday, with the star full-back now undergoing season-ending surgery.

Ponga suffered a hip injury leading to the loss to the Bulldogs and was subsequently ruled out of the match due to a foot injury, being spotted in the stands wearing a moon boot.

News Corp has reported that Ponga now faces a two-month layoff, effectively ruling him out of the home state for Queensland, or the entire season if he requires surgery.

It comes after Ponga himself admitted he was still far from 100 percent during an interview ahead of his pre-match warm-up against the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.

“Yes, it’s fine, I’ve got a needle inserted at the moment, which will hopefully do me good until the break, but the body feels good,” he said.

The worst-case scenario played out for Knights fans, with Ponga suffering a new injury and now undergoing season-ending surgery

Former Melbourne Storm and Roosters premiership winner Cooper Cronk said before the match that Ponga’s comments were cause for concern.

‘He’s not 100 percent. He just said that hopefully I will be right until half time. That tells me he’s clearly on medication or something to get through it,” he said.

Former Broncos star Corey Parker added: “not the words you want to hear from your skipper pre-game.”

Knights coach Adam O’Brien was surprised at the time to hear Ponga’s comments but brushed aside any concerns about his star fullback.

“After that, I’m more confident than him, it sounds like,” he said.

‘If you see what he has done during the week, he has actually done more than when he has no injury.

“So no, he’ll be fine, buddy.”

Losing Ponga for the season would be a devastating blow to the Knights, who are struggling to replicate the form that saw them play the 2023 NRL finals.

Unfortunately for Knights fans, Ponga was unwell, although the club insist it is a ‘rare’ ligament damage and not a serious Lisfranc injury or anything to do with his hip.

‘Nothing to do with the hip pointer. It’s in the foot, a ligament in the foot,” O’Brien said after the game.

‘As far as I know it’s quite rare, so not good signs for us. It’s not good, we will know (more) tomorrow.’

That has led many football greats and fans to question why an obviously injured Ponga was allowed to play at all, including former Penrith and New South Wales Origin enforcer Mark Geyer.

“It was clear he was injured, not just in the hip but now in his foot,” he said on Triple M’s Mick & MG in the Morning.

‘Luckily they ruled out a Lisfranc [joint] injury, which is a pretty serious ligament injury that could keep him out for ages.

“But honestly, if you see a guy running out of the tunnel to a game with some kind of pronounced limp, I don’t know why he was playing.

“I don’t know for the life of me.”

NRL great Mark Geyer has joined a chorus of fans questioning why Ponga was allowed to play when he was clearly injured

Knights coach Adam O’Brien was even shocked by Ponga’s pre-match comments that he could only make it to half-time

His co-host Mick Molloy said someone at the Knights had to be responsible for the decision.

“That’s pretty bad management, I would have thought, and heads should roll,” he said.

‘Someone from the medical department who approved that.

“A man limping into the battlefield doesn’t look great. I don’t know what to expect.’

Knights fans were also up in arms about the decision, wondering why Ponga wasn’t equipped to get his body back to 100 percent.

“Should never have played, I already had hip problems,” one person wrote.

‘I’m not an expert on RL, but I don’t understand why you wouldn’t rest your best player in Ponga and allow him to get back to 100% fitness. IMO, that’s just stupid player management this early in the season,” another wondered.

‘I think serious questions need to be asked about who decided Ponga was right to go today. He never was. So instead of missing one or two games, there’s a chance he might miss many more,” another added.