Ponga reveals what really happened in pub toilet

1 year ago 77

Kalyn Ponga has yet addressed the media six months connected from a toilet cubicle contention that sparked an NRL probe successful August past year.

Knights skipper Ponga had, until Monday morning, been shielded from media duties since the incidental but yet gave his mentation of events successful beforehand of the cameras.

He said the crushed helium had been successful the cubicle with teammate Kurt Mann astatine a Newcastle edifice was due to the fact that helium was "sick" and needed assistance.

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Despite that assertion helium admitted that being successful the pub to statesman with was a "mistake" fixed the timing, portion the Knights were playing astatine the backmost extremity of a miserable play successful which they finished 14th connected the ladder, with conscionable six wins.

Ponga was not portion of the squad for the lucifer that time owed to having finished up for the play connected aesculapian advice, aft the latest caput sound to person sidelined him writer to concussion.

"I shouldn't person been retired successful the archetypal place," helium said. "I was successful the incorrect there."

Ponga, present 24, acknowledged that helium was astatine a constituent successful his vocation wherever helium needed to marque amended decisions, peculiarly fixed his lasting astatine a nine that has a batch of enactment to bash to go competitory again.

"Lots of lessons," Ponga said.

"A batch of self-reflecting implicit the off-season. It was a play that I volition look backmost connected and hopefully down the way - and adjacent present - it is astir apt 1 of the astir hard moments of my life.

"I person learnt a batch from that time. I person enactment things successful spot that volition assistance maine beryllium a amended idiosyncratic and hopefully a amended leader. I shouldn't person been retired successful the archetypal place.

"I bash enactment the boys - they cognize that. I was successful the incorrect there."

Ponga added that helium was not alert that drinking intoxicant was not recommended during the betterment signifier pursuing a concussion.

He said it had been a process educating himself astir rehabilitation from caput knocks.

Ponga kicked retired of pub toilet

"To beryllium honorable I didn't cognize the effects intoxicant could person connected concussion. There is truthful overmuch astir concussion that radical don't know. I look backmost connected that clip and that play I was going done the concussions, and they bash person an effect connected you," Ponga said.

"Moving forward, determination person been tons of lessons learned and that is 1 of them.

"I deliberation I person recovered rather well. I haven't had to deliberation astir the concussions to beryllium honest. I person gone done the preseason and done each the contact. My caput feels safe. I privation to enactment that successful the past. It is simply a portion of past twelvemonth that wounded maine a lot."

Ponga said helium wanted to enactment the headlines of past play down him and determination guardant aft a engaged off-season successful which helium has prepared to power positions from fullback to five-eighth.

The Knights person connected respective occasions implicit the past fewer years toyed with switching Ponga into the halves, but ne'er has the nine seemed truthful committed to it arsenic successful this off-season.

"I person enjoyed the situation to beryllium honest," Ponga said.

"That was the breathtaking portion of coming back. Jacko [off-season enlistee Jackson Hastings] has been truthful bully for me. He is specified a loud, vocal controlling half.

"It allows maine to play free. I deliberation helium is cleanable for what this squad needs. I privation to deed the crushed moving and beryllium the champion I tin be. I americium excited, it is simply a situation for me. It is an accidental for maine to turn arsenic a player."

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