Kalyn Ponga head knocks

[Moedogg]

The guy got concussed again and will miss the next round and possibly more after suffering yet another head knock. 4th concussion in 10 months.

Should the Knights just agree to part ways with him? He's their highest paid player but they aren't getting their value for money.

There are already concerns about his long term future. Maybe he should go to Union and hang out on the wing to prolong his career?

 

[John Matrix]

Knights would do it in a heart beat, he needs to decide to medically retire and why would he when he's earning massive coin for not playing.

 

[B-Train]

They definitely need to sit him out for a while for his own welfare but they probably won't because they're desperate.

What was even more negligent was them putting him at 5/8th to defend in the front line when he has a history of concussions and isn't equipped physically to handle making 20 tackles a game.

 

[Dognacious]

Maybe he can wear an NFL helmet? Headgear didnt help. Or maybe he can stop tackling with his head?

 

[foREVerA7X]

I always thought it was a strange move from Newcastle to shift a bloke with concussion concerns from Full Back to the front line and it was evident in the first two rounds.

Is there a case for club negligence against him? Also who is teaching this bloke to tackle?

Newcastle need to sit down and have a good hard chat with Ponga and his family and management and possibly follow the route Sharks took with Wade Graham or even Roosters with Keary.

 

[Cappuccino]

He's gone I reckon

 

[Dognacious]

Hes obviously either got a technique problem, because other halves and fullbacks arent getting the concussions he is, or he has a glass skull, and gets concussions easily. The latter would mean its probably over for him. The first option, do Newcastle have the staff to fix his technique issue?

 

[Moedogg]

Hes obviously either got a technique problem, because other halves and fullbacks arent getting the concussions he is, or he has a glass skull, and gets concussions easily. The latter would mean its probably over for him. The first option, do Newcastle have the staff to fix his technique issue?

It's not all tackling. Prior to this, he got clipped on the jaw which ruled him out for the season.

Maybe he should go join Bennett at the Dolphins, so he can hide him on the wing like he did with Soward.

 

[InGusWeTrust]

I feel really sorry for him tbh. I like Kalyn. He’s not worth what they pay him, but that’s not his fault. He seems like a nice kid and it really sucks to see anyone get repeated concussions, let alone the number he’s had in the last 12 months.

I don’t know the answer but they’ve stuffed themselves with getting Miller in. Having him at fullback, makes it almost impossible to put Kalyn back there, not that they want to. They’ve made a concrete decision to make Kalyn their 5/8th. The only way to possibly mitigate him getting more head knocks, is playing him on the wing in defense.

 

[bradyk]

Ponga isn't going to walk away from is it 1.4m now?

 

[Cappuccino]

Ponga isn't going to walk away from is it 1.4m now?

Nah he's guaranteed the money based on how contracts work. He'll need it to service his debt anyway

 

[Moedogg]

Ponga isn't going to walk away from is it 1.4m now?

If his long term health is at stake , thats enough incentive to walk away. Look at Mario Fenech.

He already has a public profile, can make something off it. Plus he's already made money.

Way better option than memory loss.

 

[B-Train]

If his long term health is at stake , thats enough incentive to walk away. Look at Mario Fenech.

He already has a public profile, can make something off it. Plus he's already made money.

Way better option than memory loss.

Mario Fenech is a bad example. I don't know if you know but he's struggling badly with dementia at the moment..

 

[InGusWeTrust]

Mario Fenech is a bad example. I don't know if you know but he's struggling badly with dementia at the moment..

I think that was his point? That Fenech is suffering dementia (probably) due to so many head knocks.

 

[B-Train]

I think that was his point? That Fenech is suffering dementia (probably) due to so many head knocks.

I'm not sure.. His last comment said way better option than memory loss but Muz has bad dementia so either way it's a bad example because Ponga may still have issues down the road like Muz does because he's had his fair share of concussions too. A lot of the times the symptoms don't become severe til years later like in Muz's case..

 

[InGusWeTrust]

I'm not sure.. His last comment said way better option than memory loss but Muz has bad dementia so either way it's a bad example because Ponga may still have issues down the road like Muz does because he's had his fair share of concussions too. A lot of the times the symptoms don't become severe til years later.

Ah ok I see what you mean now. That’s true. I thought that yesterday actually, with how badly he looked. He dropped like a fly from not a huge impact. So yeah, it may be too late to avoid long term issues. Hopefully not for his sake.

I’m sure most players think that they’ll worry about that when they retire from footy, but that view can possibly be to their detriment. James Graham is a good example. He completely changed his tune from his playing days, where he had no interest in protecting himself. He’s now more circumspect about it. I guess it depends on what the doctors are telling them. I’m not sure if they can tell in the short term if there’s signs or damage that may lead to poor outcomes, but I think with guys like Cordner, Friend (maybe?) and Liam Fulton (another maybe?) they had doctor input into their decisions to retire.

Also as far as CTE and dementia, I don’t know if there’s a proven link. Dementia seems to be quite a prevalent disease in general so I imagine it would be hard to say. That said, you’d want to avoid things known to be potential causes of an insidious disease like that.

 

[Kung fu man]

He's gone I reckon

You could be right it didnt even look like head contact it looked more like a whiplash type effect

 

[Alan79]

This is going to become a huge issue for the game in future. They've gone through a not so gradual process of making the standard NRL player about 90-100+ kg. Anyone below 90kg is a very small NRL player these days. They're used like battering rams for the most part. When the game was created they were smart about things. The defensive line was 5m away which would mean momentum played less part in things and it wasn't so easy for a 100kg player to steamroll the opposition because they weren't getting to maximum speed. Back then they also had few interchanges so the big guys wore themselves out and the little blokes came into the equation.

The game itself has made the moves to put the emphasis on remuneration on clubs moving forward by altering their stance of head knocks on game day. They've left clubs with the decision of when to allow players to return from concussion. The game is now seen to be responsible by testing for concussion and keeping the player out for the game. Very strategic stance really. They've put on six pairs of undies to make sure their ass is covered.

As far as Ponga or anyone else who regularly cops concussions goes, I'd show them interviews featuring Geoff Toovey before and after his career. Toovey used to blink as a young man. Nowadays it seems that the part of his brain that automatically generated blinks is offline. He was concussed every second week and put back on field to finish the game. Not sure why he isn't a cautionary tale for players.

 

[Bulldog1966]

Feel sorry for these guys no matter who it is really(bar one or 12 souths players lol)
Needs a month off at least, extensive tests etc and go from there.

 

[Typical dog]

Maybe a career change. Other league players have tried a stint in boxing..........