Wiser Ponga learnt lessons from toilet row
NEWCASTLE superstar Kalyn Ponga insists he was sick and feeling the effects of alcohol and food when he was captured leaving a toilet cubicle with teammate Kurt Mann late last year.
Ponga, speaking for the first time about an incident that prompted an integrity unit investigation and led to fresh speculation over his dedication, acknowledged he was in the wrong and vowed to become a better leader.
He also insisted the incident had been an eye opener about the impact of concussion – Ponga only managed 14 games for the Knights last year after suffering a series of head knocks that brought his season to a premature end.
“I was sick,” Ponga said. “The process of the whole integrity unit going through what they went through, and being through my concussion at that time and not being able to play and show everyone that I do care about the club, was tough for me.
“I have reflected upon my responsibilities as a leader. I have learnt some lessons from that time. I just want to set new standards, be a better leader for this team and the boys I am playing with.”
Asked why Mann had accompanied him to the toilet, Ponga said: “He was there to help. Food that I had earlier … I can’t go back and change anything.
“I shouldn’t have been out or anything like that in the first place. I was in the wrong there.”
Ponga insisted he was naive about the dangers of alcohol when recovering from concussion.
“To be honest I didn’t know the effects that alcohol could have on concussion,” he said.
“Obviously it is not great for concussion. Like I said, I have learnt a lot from that time. It is not a foreign part of the game but there is so much about concussion often people don’t know. I look back on that time and that period I was going through the concussions, and they do have an effect on you.”
The NRL opted not to sanction Ponga and he has retained the Knights captaincy.
He could lead the team this weekend in their final trial, although he may be wrapped in cotton wool given he has struggled with a calf problem.