Shoulder injury inflicted ‘crazy‘ mental toll on Ponga
NEWCASTLE superstar Kalyn Ponga has told of the “crazy” mental toll his shoulder injury had on him during last year’s finals loss to South Sydney.
Ponga pushed through the pain of a dodgy shoulder as the Knights lost to the Rabbitohs.
“It’s pretty crazy what an injury can do to you mentally,” Ponga said about his shoulder injury, which required surgery.
“It took a bit of confidence out of me.”
Twelve months on, Ponga is fully fit and pumped about the Knights’ final prospects before Sunday’s elimination final against Parramatta.
He believes they are better placed this season due to the hard work behind the scenes.
“That is why I’m so excited,” he said. “I don’t think we have played to our full potential yet or anywhere near it.
“I remember being in this position last year and I think the mood is a lot better and the boys are a lot more excited.
“I think the belief and the confidence are higher than last year and that is because of the hard work we’ve put in over the last eight weeks to get here.
“I’d like to think that we’ll be a lot better. We need to be better, and we need to get better.”
Newcastle’s inconsistent attack has been criticised this year.
The Knights are loaded with strike players such as Ponga, Mitchell Pearce and Bradman Best but are the worst attacking team in the finals after scoring just 428 points in the regular season.
In comparison, Melbourne and South Sydney have scored 815 and 775 points respectively.
Newcastle’s clunky and inefficient attack was particularly poor during last week’s surprise loss to Brisbane, but Ponga said he didn’t listen to the outside commentary about the team’s issues with the ball.
“I don’t read into it, and I don’t listen to it,” he said. “I wouldn’t have a clue what they are saying. We haven’t quite nailed things in attack, but you win games off effort and hard work.
“So it is exciting if we nail a few more passes and get a few little things right. We can go to another level, which you have to do in finals footy.”