Newcastle coach Justin Holbrook has praised captain Kalin Ponga for his commitment to the Knights despite the star defender’s uncharacteristically poor kicking performance which cost the team victory over Cronulla.
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The Knights lost 20-18 to the Sharks in overcast conditions on Friday night despite outscoring the home team by four tries to three.
The ever-philosophical Holbrook was quick to praise Ponga, who has been a huge asset to both the Maroons and Newcastle in recent weeks during back-to-back defeats.
“We have a really good football team and poor Kaelin – that’s three games in nine days. That’s a lot to ask of anyone, let alone a top player,” Holbrook said.
“For him to be able to play tonight and for us to come here and beat them, you’re probably not going to be lucky enough to win the game. I think we did enough. It’s hard to take that because we expect a lot from our team right now.”
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Despite a huge workload, Ponga again made a big impact for the Knights in the top eight clash, offering safety under the high ball as well as plenty of danger in attack. The 28-year-old finished the game with one try, 13 runs for 130 metres, six tackles and one line break.
The captain was unfazed by his kicking despite Newcastle’s conversion rate being around 76 per cent.
“I’m feeling pretty good. We lost and that makes it worse, but it’s more of a mental challenge getting up for a game after Origin and a five-day break. It’s all mental, physically you just have to make sure you do it right and I have enough support from the staff and everyone around me to get it right. But I’m fine,” he said.
Now in his 11th season in the NRL, Ponga is accustomed to playing minutes and has been worth his weight in gold for Newcastle this year when healthy.
He put aside any concerns about his workload in recent weeks.
“Everyone’s recovery is different. I think proper recovery and getting away from the game – I know it sounds weird – but getting away from the game and freshening up is what I’m trying to do,” he said.
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Holbrook was left to rue what might have been as his side slipped to seventh in the NRL standings. But the Knights had some good shots, according to their coach, especially as it was only the sixth game this year that Newcastle had started with their preferred backbone – and in a match in which Sandon Smith was left out due to limited changes.
“We’re confident we’ll play well and win, but that didn’t happen and we have to persevere. There are still a lot of games to play, but it’s hard to accept right now,” Holbrook said.
“I’m upset at the moment and I was upset last week. It’s up to me. You want to win and I think we’ve created enough chances to do that. That’s why it’s disappointing, if we came here and lost convincingly you can’t be upset about that. But we’re doing enough to get there.”
“We’ve got to get through this. There’s a lot of belief in this team.”
Luckily for Ponga and his Knights teammates, the NRL calendar is a little more favorable in the coming weeks.
Newcastle have a week to recover before their Round 21 match against the Roosters (Friday, July 24, 6:00 p.m.) and a further eight days before their Round 22 match against Brisbane (Saturday, August 1, 7:35 p.m.).