1. Kalyn Ponga was born on 30 March 1998 and is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a fullback for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League.
42 Facts About Kalyn Ponga
1. 2.
Kalyn Ponga is the recipient of the 2023 Dally M Medal.
3.
Kalyn Ponga has played as a five-eighth and debuted on the wing.
4.
Kalyn Ponga was born in Port Hedland, Western Australia, to parents from New Zealand, and is of Maori descent by way of his father's ancestry.
5.
Kalyn Ponga spent an early portion of his life in Newman, Western Australia, before moving to Mount Isa, Queensland, at the age of two.
6.
Kalyn Ponga attended Mackay State High School and was a member of the Rugby League Academy program, as well as playing junior rugby league for Souths Mackay.
7.
In December 2013, then 15-year-old Kalyn Ponga signed a four-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys.
8.
Kalyn Ponga was pursued by six professional clubs from across three different sports, turning down the Broncos, Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters, Queensland Reds and Brisbane Lions to sign with the Townsville-based NRL club.
9.
Kalyn Ponga played for the North Queensland Cowboys Holden Cup team from 2015 to 2017, playing 44 games, scoring 32 tries and kicking 42 goals for 212 points in his U20s career.
10.
Kalyn Ponga moved to Townsville where he attended Ignatius Park College, played for the Townsville Stingers in the Mal Meninga Cup.
11.
Later on the year Kalyn Ponga represented Australia in the under 18s touch football at the 2015 Youth Trans Tasman series.
12.
Kalyn Ponga finished the year as the Cowboys' starting fullback, scoring 8 tries in 8 games.
13.
Kalyn Ponga spent the majority of the season playing for the Cowboys' NYC and was named at fullback in the NYC Team of the Year.
14.
Kalyn Ponga was short from scoring his first NRL try in the 16th minute of the game making a break on the wing getting taken down by Broncos Lock Corey Parker.
15.
Kalyn Ponga was contracted to the Cowboys until the end of 2017.
16.
In November, it was reported that Kalyn Ponga had signed a contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2018.
17.
Kalyn Ponga was named in the Cowboys' squad for the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines tournament in February.
18.
Kalyn Ponga scored five tries and was named in the team of the tournament alongside teammate Gideon Gela-Mosby.
19.
Kalyn Ponga played his first NRL game at fullback for the Cowboys in Round 3.
20.
Kalyn Ponga scored his maiden NRL try in the Cowboys' Round 4 victory over the Gold Coast Titans.
21.
Kalyn Ponga was named man of the match in the Cowboys round 8 victory against the Newcastle Knights after scoring two tries.
22.
Kalyn Ponga returned to the North Queensland first-grade lineup in their round 24 clash against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
23.
Kalyn Ponga returned two weeks later in the NYC finals elimination loss to Manly.
24.
Kalyn Ponga was eligible to represent Australia and New Zealand in test football, but confirmed his allegiance to Queensland, and therefore Australia, in January 2018.
25.
In June, Kalyn Ponga made his State of Origin debut for Queensland in Game II of the 2018 State of Origin series.
26.
Kalyn Ponga came onto the field from the interchange bench in the 28th minute, playing out of position in the middle of the field.
27.
Kalyn Ponga was moved to five-eighth to start the 2019 season, however he returned to fullback in round 4.
28.
On 7 October 2019, Kalyn Ponga was named in the Australian side for the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s.
29.
Later that day, Kalyn Ponga was named in the U23 Junior Australian side.
30.
In June, Kalyn Ponga extended his contract with Newcastle until the end of 2024, however the last two years of the deal were options in Kalyn Ponga's favour.
31.
In Game three of the 2021 State of Origin series, Kalyn Ponga returned to the Queensland Origin side after missing out on the last 6 matches due to injury.
32.
Kalyn Ponga had until June 2022 to activate the options in his contract for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
33.
On 13 July, Kalyn Ponga put in a man-of-the-match performance in Game 3, the decider of the 2022 State of Origin series, in a Queensland side missing regular five-eighth Cameron Munster.
34.
Kalyn Ponga collected 299 running metres, 90 of which were kick returns and 75 in post-contact, along with 3 line breaks, 18 tackle breaks and the try that claimed the lead which Queensland would not lose for the remainder of the game.
35.
In July, Kalyn Ponga was ruled out for the remainder of the 2022 NRL season after suffering with concussion.
36.
Kalyn Ponga subsequently travelled to Canada to undergo advanced neurological testing to determine if he would have to retire, but tests showed no signs of brain damage.
37.
Kalyn Ponga was the Knights fourth highest try scorer, scoring 9 tries from 20 games.
38.
Kalyn Ponga won the 2023 Dally M medal, labeling him as player of the year.
39.
Kalyn Ponga was named in the squad to play the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in round 7 despite carrying a noticeable limp during the warmup.
40.
Kalyn Ponga played through the first half with the limp, however at half time spoke to a trainer regarding a foot injury he had picked up during the half.
41.
Kalyn Ponga played 16 games for Newcastle in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished 8th and qualified for the finals.
42.
Kalyn Ponga played in their elimination finals loss against North Queensland.