Kalyn Ponga facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Born | 30 March 1998 Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia |
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| Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing information
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| Position | Fullback, Five-eighth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 27 June 2025
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Kalyn Ponga, born on March 30, 1998, is a talented professional rugby league player. He is the captain and plays as a fullback for the Newcastle Knights in Australia's top league, the National Rugby League (NRL). He also represents Queensland in the exciting State of Origin series. In 2023, Kalyn won the prestigious Dally M Medal, which is given to the best player in the NRL.
Before joining the Knights, Ponga played for the North Queensland Cowboys. He has also represented the Māori All Stars and played for Australia in the Rugby League World Cup 9s.
Contents
Kalyn Ponga's Early Life
Kalyn Ponga was born in Port Hedland, Western Australia. His parents are from New Zealand, and he has Māori heritage through his father. He lived in different places as a child, including Newman, Western Australia, and Mount Isa, Queensland.
Moving to New Zealand
When he was eight years old, in 2006, Kalyn and his family moved to Palmerston North, New Zealand. He spent five years there and played many different sports. These included rugby league, touch football, hockey, rugby union, golf, and soccer. He was very good at golf and even won New Zealand's under-13 national golf championship in 2010.
Returning to Queensland
In 2011, when Kalyn was 13, his family moved back to Queensland, settling in Mackay. He went to Mackay State High School and was part of their Rugby League Academy. He also played junior rugby league for Souths Mackay. In 2012, he was chosen for the Australian Schoolboys under-15 team. He was one of the youngest players ever to make that team at just 14 years old.
In 2013, Kalyn moved to Brisbane. He attended Anglican Church Grammar School and played rugby union for their team. He also played rugby league for the Easts Tigers. He made the Australian Schoolboys under-15 team again that year.
Choosing Rugby League
In December 2013, when he was 15, Kalyn Ponga signed a four-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys. Many professional sports clubs wanted him, including teams from rugby league, rugby union, and Australian rules football. He chose to sign with the Cowboys, an NRL club based in Townsville.
Kalyn Ponga's Playing Career
Starting in Youth Teams
Kalyn Ponga began his rugby league career playing for the North Queensland Cowboys' youth team, called the Holden Cup team. He played 44 games from 2015 to 2017, scoring 32 tries.
2015 Season Highlights
In 2015, Kalyn moved to Townsville and played for the Townsville Stingers. He also represented Australia in under-18s touch football. In August, he made his debut in the NYC for the Cowboys. He finished the year as the Cowboys' starting fullback, scoring 8 tries in 8 games.
2016 Season Highlights
In 2016, Kalyn played mostly for the Cowboys' NYC team. He was named the best fullback in the NYC Team of the Year.
On September 16, Kalyn made his first appearance in the NRL, playing on the wing for the Cowboys in a finals match against the Brisbane Broncos. This was a big achievement, as it's rare for a player to make their NRL debut in a finals game. He was signed with the Cowboys until the end of 2017.
Later in 2016, it was announced that Kalyn had signed a four-year contract with the Newcastle Knights, starting in 2018. This was a very big deal, making him one of the highest-paid teenagers in NRL history.
2017 Season Highlights
Kalyn played well for the Cowboys in the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines tournament. He scored five tries and was named in the team of the tournament. He played his first NRL game at fullback for the Cowboys in Round 3. He scored his first NRL try in Round 4 against the Gold Coast Titans. He was named man of the match in a game against the Newcastle Knights, scoring two tries.
For the second year in a row, he was named at fullback in the NYC Team of the Year.
Joining the Newcastle Knights
2018 Season Highlights
In January 2018, Kalyn confirmed he would play for Queensland and Australia if chosen. In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL season, he made his debut for the Newcastle Knights. He scored a try and kicked three goals, helping his team win in extra time.
In June, Kalyn made his debut for Queensland in the State of Origin series. He came off the bench and played very well, making many tackles and almost scoring a try. Many people, including former rugby league stars, called it one of the best Origin debuts ever.
2019 Season Highlights
Kalyn started the 2019 season playing as a five-eighth but soon moved back to his preferred position of fullback. In October 2019, he was chosen to play for the Australian team in the Rugby League World Cup 9s.
2020 Season Highlights
In June 2020, Kalyn extended his contract with Newcastle until the end of 2024.
2021 Season Highlights
In Round 6 of the 2021 NRL season, Kalyn scored two tries and was named man of the match as Newcastle beat Cronulla-Sutherland. He also had a great game in Round 16 against the North Queensland Cowboys, scoring two tries in a big win.
Kalyn returned to the Queensland Origin team for Game 3 of the 2021 State of Origin series after being out with an injury. He helped Queensland win the game.
2022 Season Highlights
In April 2022, Kalyn signed a new five-year contract with the Knights, keeping him at the club until the end of 2027.
On July 13, Kalyn was named man of the match in Game 3 of the 2022 State of Origin series. He played an amazing game, running almost 300 metres and scoring a crucial try that helped Queensland win the series. Later that year, Kalyn had to stop playing for the rest of the 2022 NRL season due to a concussion.
2023 Season Highlights
In Round 2 of the 2023 NRL season, Kalyn suffered another concussion early in the game. This was his fourth concussion in ten months. He traveled to Canada for special tests to make sure he was okay to keep playing. The tests showed no brain damage, and he returned to play in Round 8.
After a slow start, Kalyn helped the Knights win 9 games in a row, moving them from 14th to 5th place on the ladder. He scored 9 tries in 20 games. The team won their first finals game but lost the next, ending their season.
Kalyn Ponga won the 2023 Dally M Medal, which means he was named the best player in the NRL for that year.
2024 Season Highlights
In Round 6, Kalyn was reported to have a hip injury. He played through the first half of a Round 7 game with a limp and then had to leave the field due to a foot injury. On April 22, it was announced that he would be out of action for a while because of this foot injury.
Kalyn played 16 games for Newcastle in the 2024 NRL season. The team finished 8th and made it to the finals, but they lost their elimination game against North Queensland.
2025 Season Highlights
In May, Kalyn was chosen to play for Queensland in Game 1 of the 2025 State of Origin series. In Round 14 of the 2025 NRL season, he scored the winning try in extra time as Newcastle beat Manly-Warringah.
On July 1, Kalyn was ruled out for an indefinite period after suffering a foot injury in Newcastle's Round 17 loss against Canberra.
Achievements and Awards
Individual Awards
- NYC Team of the Year: 2016, 2017
- 2022 State of Origin series Man of the Match (Game 3)
- 2023 Dally M Medal Winner
- 2023 Fullback of the Year
Statistics
NRL Career Stats
| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | A | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 2018 |  Newcastle Knights |
20 | 6 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 78 |
| 2019 | 20 | 11 | 48 | 9 | 0 | 140 | |
| 2020 | 19 | 10 | 46 | 14 | 0 | 132 | |
| 2021 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 52 | |
| 2022 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 40 | |
| 2023 | 20 | 9 | 54 | 21 | 0 | 144 | |
| 2024 | 16 | 3 | 46 | 104 | |||
| 2025 | 13 | 1 | 19 | 40 | |||
| Career totals | 147 | 55 | 262 | 75 | 0 | 726 | |
