Andrew Johns blasts Kalyn Ponga 'amateur hour' as New Zealand comments back in spotlight

Newcastle great Andrew Johns has labelled his former club "incompetent" for declaring that Kalyn Ponga was unavailable to play for Australia in the Pacific Championship Test matches at the end of the NRL season. In the statement uploaded to the Newcastle website, Ponga is quoted as saying his only focus is on winning a premiership at the Knights and therefore wants to commit to a full pre-season with the club instead of playing for Australia.

However, the star fullback is now facing a ban from the NRL for breaching his contract which states he must be available for Kangaroos selection unless he is granted an exemption. This is because Ponga isn't injured and therefore withdrawing from selection is against NRL rules. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, NRL clubs must make all players available for representative selection unless there's a valid reason they can't play (usually injury) but in this case it is the player and club's choice.

If Ponga was to play for the Kangaroos and the Australian side were to reach the final of the Pacific Championships, that game would be played on November 10. And under CBA rules, players who have completed five pre-seasons or more have nine weeks off following their final game of the season, meaning Ponga wouldn't return to Newcastle training until mid-January - something the fullback doesn't want as he wishes to prioritise his club rugby league.

That is a stance Johns believes is more than okay, however, the NRL legend says the Knights have gone about it all wrong. "It's not on Kalyn, it's on the Knights for being incompetent ... where's someone within the Knights saying 'hang on, just think about it for a second, what about we just say you need a cleanout of your ankle or something like that?'," Johns said on the 'Freddy and the Eighth' podcast.

"Who has let him come out and put himself up for criticism like that? Someone within the organisation, put your hand up. Someone within the organisation has to put their hand up at the Knights and say 'You know what I absolutely screwed this up' because someone within there should've said 'We need to sort this out because this won't pass the pub test and you're going to get hammered' ... absolute amateur hour."

The ARL Commission has made a point to make international football a key focus, with Peter V'landys declaring this week he wanted the Kangaroos jersey to be the pinnacle of rugby league. Therefore there have been suggestions the NRL could move to slap Ponga with a ban for declaring himself unavailable, something Johns believes would be "ridiculous" and "absolutely laughable". "If he doesn't want to play, he doesn't have to play. Who cares? Let him go to rugby union then, it's his decision ... you can't make people play. If he doesn't want to play for Australia, so be it," Johns said.

Does Kalyn Ponga want to play for Australia or New Zealand?

While Ponga says the decision to withdraw from Australian selection is solely to focus on his Knights career, an old interview with TVNZ casts doubt over whether the reigning Dally M Medallist wants to even play for the Kangaroos. The video titled 'The Kalyn Ponga story: Family Identity and the All Blacks' from 2018 makes it clear that Ponga's family wants him to represent New Zealand, ideally in rugby union.

"It’s (New Zealand roots) a very important part of my heritage. It’s who I am. It’s the values and morals embedded in me through my uncles and my Dad," Ponga said in the interview. However, the fullback has since opted to represent Queensland in State of Origin and featured for the junior Kangaroos. But if the NRL star is to return to rugby union, he stated in the TVNZ interview the All Blacks would be his dream.

"Obviously yeah (the All Blacks is his ultimate dream) I think that would be a huge goal. One that if I was to come back to union I would want to tick,” Ponga said. "But I’m not too sure what my future holds whether I’m going to stay in league or change codes.

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"If I was to go back to rugby union I’d probably want to strive for that black jumper. I think it’s the pinnacle. Well, they are. They’re the best sporting organisation in the world. Stats have shown that. The way they hold themselves and their values and their morals just the little things they do make them that step above everyone else. So to put that jersey on would be pretty special."

In a separate television interview titled 'The Kalyn Ponga Story with Matai Smith for Native Affairs', which aired in 2017, Ponga spoke about being torn about whether to represent New Zealand or Australia. He also stated that his parents would ideally like to see him play for the Kiwis.

"There’s been a cloud over my head as to whether what I’m doing with my allegiance," Ponga said. The star fullback was born in Western Australia before being raised in Palmerston North in New Zealand. He then moved to Mackay as a teenager where he began his rugby league career. He played for the Australian Schoolboys and the Junior Kangaroos and declared his allegiance to Queensland and Australia at the beginning of 2018.