Kalyn Ponga has given Newcastle fans a major scare after he was forced to depart the field late in the first half against Manly due to a hamstring concern.
The visiting fullback had been involved in almost every major moment for his team in the half up until his departure, having called for assistance after he scored a try.
A break down the edge by Bradman Best in the 25th minute set up Newcastle’s third try via Ponga, who came flying down the sideline to support and eventually finish off the job for his teammate.
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He did not get across with ease though as he pushed off a tackle attempt by Jason Saab. But as he hit the ground it became clear he had injured his hamstring.
Kalyn Ponga clutches at his hamstring. Nine
Sandon Smith filled in the goal kicking duties as Ponga spoke with trainers.
Newcastle’s medical team told Nine’s Emma Lawrence that Ponga was suffering a bad cramp in his hamstring, as footage of the star fullback walking up the tunnel was played.
“There is going to be a bit more pressure on Dylan Brown and Sandon Smith now,” Billy Slater said in commentary on Nine.
“They haven’t got their captain out there now and he is the dominant voice. This is a big opportunity for Dylan Brown to stand up.”
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Kalyn Ponga leaves the field injured. Getty
Later in the half Lawrence confirmed that Ponga’s time on the field had come to an end.
“Unfortunately for the Knights Kalyn Ponga has done his hamstring. We are not too sure of the extent just yet,” she said.
Phil Gould noted the Knights will be thankful that Fletcher Sharpe is on the verge of returning to play from as early as next week, but Ponga’s loss will still be a “huge blow”.
To make matters worse for the visitors, Brown went down with a leg injury. He was seen undergoing assessment by a team trainer after being hit hard by Trbojevic.
He did not depart the field, but did get some heavy strapping to stay on.
Brown did not return to the field for the second half after succumbing to a suspected MCL injury. He was seen wearing a brace towards the end of the match.
The visitors only needed one minute on the pitch to showcase what was to come in the match, smashing the ball long off the kick off in the direction of Luke Brooks.
Brooks appeared to believe the kick may have had too much power and let it fall, but it landed a metre inside the dead-ball line and then bounced into touch.
Newcastle was fast to fire the ball around the pitch, with some quick hands out on the left from Kalyn Ponga finding Greg Marzhew to power over out wide.
“That is their first set of the match and you have to give that a 10 out of 10 for execution,” Gould said in commentary on Nine.
“That was just so crisp.”
Manly looked to hit back in the seventh minute through Reuben Garrick, who dived on a grubber kick that had been batted back into play by Jason Saab.
Referee Todd Smith was not convinced by Garrick’s efforts, even though he was celebrating with Manly teammates, with the Bunker later confirming it was a “no try”.
To add to the woes of Manly’s errors in the opening 10 minutes, Ponga put the hosts right edge under pressure as he set up a beautiful run for Dom Young to score.
Jamal Fogarty is tackled. Getty
Paul Gallen could not believe the start to the game he had witnessed from Newcastle.
“This team in 2025 were the worst attacking side by a long way,” he said.
“This crowd is very quiet at the moment.”
That silence did not last long though with Newcastle’s first error of the match paving the way for Manly to strike via Jamal Fogarty.
Fogarty drove towards the line before throwing a dummy which deceived Trey Mooney and Phoenix Crossland with neither player able to slow the Manly recruit down.
Tom Trbojevic then replicated Fogarty’s try-scoring efforts again six minutes later, trampling over the top of Crossland from five metres out to narrow the margin to 12-10.
“They’ve come to life now Manly,” Gould said.
Newcastle crossed three more times to round out the half after Fogarty and Trbojevic’s efforts. The score at the end of the first half was 30-10.
The visitors only put six more points on the board in the final 40 minutes, while Manly managed to bring their score up to 16.