KNIGHTS dynamo Kalyn Ponga is confident his running game can become even more lethal after the club's decision to recruit veteran playmaker Blake Green.
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Green joined Newcastle a fortnight ago after gaining a release from the Warriors, and his first two games for his seventh NRL franchise have produced wins against Wests Tigers (44-4) and Manly (26-24).
Ponga's form in both games has been a highlight, and the electrifying fullback said he was appreciating the opportunity to roam in attack, leaving Green and skipper Mitchell Pearce to focus on game management and ball-playing.
"I definitely want to [run more]," Ponga said.
"Now that Greeny's here, that's probably more my role.
"The last couple of games, I've definitely had that mindset of just being most dangerous with the ball, running the ball and, off that, options will come alive.
"So it's a combination we're still working on.
"We haven't had that much time together. As a spine, we still need to be better in certain areas. But yeah, I definitely am trying to run the footy a bit more."
Ponga said Pearce and Green had struck up an instant understanding, on and off the field, and he was happy to let them call the shots.
"Obviously Pearcey has done it for the last couple of years, and then I kind of fell into a little bit of that role before Greeny was here," Ponga said.
"Now that he's here, he's definitely taken that on. It's pretty much his job.
"He knows how to do it. He's done it for years.
"So for me, it's just about picking my moments and being more wiser, instead of being in every moment - making my touches count. I definitely do feel a bit freer."
Ponga said Pearce and Green were happy to talk about football 24-7.
"I just try and stay away from them every now and again, because it's too much," he said with a smile. "But they love it."
As well as forging an understanding with Newcastle's new-look spine, Ponga has been relishing his combination with centre Enari Tuala.
Tuala and Ponga played alongside each other in North Queensland's under-20s and will be aiming to beat their former club at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
"He's obviously an awesome talent," Ponga said of Tuala.
"He hasn't changed much over the years. He's still quiet.
"But he's finally being appreciated, I think, and this team definitely understands the value of his efforts off the ball, all the little things that he does.
"I didn't really notice, growing up, that he was that sort of player. But he's definitely been that player for us all year."
A win against the Cowboys could potentially lift the Knights into the top four.
"You want to be as high on the ladder as you can be," Ponga said.
"In saying that, we're not looking at what our result is going to be at the end of the season. We're just looking at each game.
"I know it's a cliche and I probably say it a lot.
"I'm not looking that if we win this amount of games, we're top four.
"It's just about winning this week and being better than the week before."
