Sporting Declaration: Why Ponga is likely to stay a Knight until 2024

Ponga is under contract to the Knights for three more seasons, but unfortunately for the club's management, the situation is not quite that black and white.

As has been widely reported, Ponga has clauses in the contract that would potentially allow him to terminate the deal unilaterally and walk out if and when it suits him.

Exactly what the terms and conditions of those clauses stipulate has been a matter of some conjecture.

According to some reports, there is a proviso that would enable Ponga to leave if Newcastle were to win a premiership.

Alternatively there have been suggestions that he must inform Knights by the end of June next year if he wants to tear up his deal for 2023.

Given that a new club, Redcliffe Dolphins, will be entering the NRL in 2023, it has not taken long for the media to join the dots.

The cashed-up Dolphins will have to build a roster from scratch, and as new coach Wayne Bennett said last week: "You've got a nine-and-a-half million dollar salary cap.

"You know you've got to get some marquee players, so that'll be our priority to get those and build the other players around them ... we've got to work through that and come up with the best roster we possibly can."

When it comes to a marquee recruit, could there possibly be a better fit for the Dolphins than Ponga?

For starters, he's a Queenslander (sort of). He's still only 23, so his best football would logically appear ahead of him. He plays a unique, dynamic brand of football that entices spectators to part with their money at the turnstiles.

In a relatively short space of time, he's become one of the most recognisable players in the NRL and, unlike so many of his peers, has managed to avoid off-field dramas that might stain his squeaky-clean image.

Most importantly, he helps win games.

In short, he is the type of player most clubs - in particular a start-up franchise - would welcome into the fold.

All of which could potentially leave the powers-that-be at Newcastle feeling a bit like the bloke whose glamorous girlfriend is attracting attention from every sleazy drunk in the nightclub.

The Knights, for their part, are showing no signs of angst.

As Newcastle CEO Phil Gardner told my colleague Barry Toohey recently: "As far as I am concerned, he is here until the end of 2024 and he'll be with us until at least then.

"People are going to keep asking me about KP and I'll keep saying the same thing. I'm not losing an ounce of sleep over it. I'm not concerned at all."

Gardner's confidence is based on two very valid points.

First of all, he knows exactly how much KP is being paid, both by the club and third-party sponsors, and believes that any rivals who try to gazump them will risk sabotaging their own salary cap.

Ponga is already one of the NRL's top earners, and deservedly so.

Yet is he worth significantly more than the likes of Tom Trbjoevic, Nathan Cleary and James Tedesco are being paid?

Newcastle appear to have rightly taken the attitude that if anyone wants to tempt Ponga with ridiculous money, there's not much they can do about it.

Moreover, in the case of the Dolphins, as Gardner has noted, does Ponga really want to join a franchise that is starting from scratch?

Other than Melbourne Storm's remarkable feat of winning a premiership in their second season, history suggests that new entities in the NRL tend to struggle.

Even the Dolphins' master coach, Wayne Bennett, took five years to win a premiership with the Broncos, despite a roster stacked with Queensland and Australian representatives.

Does Ponga really want to go through the likely building process, as he did when he first joined Newcastle - the incumbent three-time wooden spooners - for the start of the 2018 season?

Behind the scenes, Knights insiders believe the Dolphins are "kidding themselves" if they consider Ponga a genuine option for 2023.

As for keeping the mercurial fullback beyond 2024, my understanding is Knights officials accept at that point in his career he may well want a new challenge. By then he will be turning 27 and will have played seven seasons and, touch wood, well over 100 games for Newcastle.

Ponga has previously revealed that playing for the All Blacks would be "pretty special", describing New Zealand's national rugby team as the "pinnacle" of sporting organisations.

He would appear to have the skill set, and union background, that would allow him to make a straightforward transition.

If that is indeed his long-term plan, then it is likely when the time comes, the Knights will thanks him for his services and wish him well as he chases his dream.

But for now, the speculation about KP's future strikes me as so much hot air. I'll be surprised if he is going anywhere in the immediate future.

Knights fans, however, might be well advised to enjoy him while they can.

IN THE NEWS:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: