Kalyn Ponga has incredibly escaped suspension for his high shot on Tolu Koula that turned State of Origin Game 1 on its head.
Ponga was sensationally sent off in the second half for a shoulder charge on NSW winger Tolu Koula.
It appeared to be a head clash that warranted a sin bin, but referee Ashley Klein was adamant Ponga deserved to be sent off, and he gave the Queensland fullback his marching orders in a stunning call.
You can watch the Kalyn Ponga send off call in the player above
The send-off completely shifted the momentum of the game in NSW’s favour, and despite the Blues blowing several tries they came from 20-6 down to snatch the game away from Queensland at the death, with an incredible James Tedesco try.
The decision to send Ponga off arguably cost Queensland the game leaving Maroons fans furious.
And in a staggering decision just before midnight on Wednesday, the NRL Match Review Committee decided not to hand Ponga a suspension for his shoulder charge on Koula.
Ponga was charged with a grade two shoulder charge.
A grade two charge would ordinarily have seen Ponga banned for two games in the NRL, but a change to the judicial code in rep games means the superstar fullback only has to pay 23 per cent of his match fee with an early guilty plea – a $6900 fine.
If he is to fight the charge and lose that will rise to a third of his match fees.
The decision left the NRL world stunned.
“Insanity. That now become the precedent for every head contact, shoulder charge moving forward,” one fan said in response to the Match Review Committee’s findings.
“Is this is the first known case in NRL history where a player was sent off for a shoulder charge with direct head contact and then escaped without a suspension?” another stunned supporter wrote.
“That’ll do me. What a joke,” a third added.
The fine means Ponga is free to run out for the Knights on Saturday against the Eels.
However, adding to fan fury is the news that Koula will enter the NRL’s concussion protocols with an associated 11-day stand-down period.
It means he will miss the Sea Eagles’ next 2 games, as they next play two days and nine days from now.
While other angry fans pointed to the fact that the last Origin send off before Ponga’s brought about a four-match suspension.
Joseph Suaalii’s late hit on Reece Walsh in the eighth minute of the 2024 State of Origin series opener saw the former Rooster slapped with a hefty ban.
Queenslanders’ fury at Ponga send off
Predictably, the Kalyn Ponga send-off has not gone down well with Queenslanders. There’s no doubt Ashley Klein’s decision in the 57th minute was the turning point of the game and shifted the momentum in NSW’s favour as Queensland had to defend a man down.
“I’m still in shock over that Ponga decision, that’s the turning point, there will be a lot of people north of the border that struggle with that decision,” Darren Lockyer said on Channel 9 post-game.
“Brad (Fittler) and I on the sideline, we could hear the thump. I heard the noise and it was sickening from a distance.
“I think Ashley Klein, at the start, when he first (saw) it and heard it, I think he always had this in his mind.
“What I am surprised at, when it went up to the bunker and they’ve reviewed, the bunker was suggesting that it was only 10 minutes. But Ashley Klein didn’t want a bar of it.”
However, Brad Fittler argued that as the defender, Ponga had a responsibility not to lead with his shoulder.
“You have full responsibility (when defending)…he had an opportunity to calm down, to slow down,” Fittler said.
“His last action was going into the tackle. His shoulder hit his shoulder and it ended up being a head clash. But the big thing is, whether he should be sent off or not, as a defender you have got the responsibility.
“If you’re going to come into tackles in those situations, you have got full responsibility. You need to be on the negative, on the downside, rather than being aggressive. That’s why he sent him off.”
Post-match Billy Slater was asked for his opinion and he simply replied, “it is what it is”.
The coach was probed more, before he said he had no problem with it.
“We can argue all we want, but it is what it is … I haven’t got any problems with it,” he said.
While NSW coach Laurie Daley declined to comment on if he thought it was a send off.
“I’d rather not say,” he replied to the question post-match.
Originally published as Kalyn Ponga escapes ban for high shot that changed State of Origin Game 1