Kalyn Ponga concussion: Concerns growing for Newcastle Knights superstar after latest head knock

Concerns about Kalyn Ponga’s long-term future in the NRL are growing after suffering a fourth concussion in the last 10 months Sunday afternoon.

Newcastle’s million-dollar superstar was pulled off the field after just two minutes against the Tigers after an attempted tackle on Asu Kepaoa went horribly wrong.

Ponga missed his HIA and spent the rest of the game in the sheds, while Knights hooker Jayden Brailey was also sent off with a first-half headbutt.

Against all odds, which included a fall from grace and Jacob Saifiti’s dismissal, Newcastle managed a brave 14-12 victory at the Leichhardt Oval.

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Speaking to the media after the game, Newcastle manager Adam O’Brien revealed the five-eight would be out for at least a week but was not quick to address the long-term effects of the recent concussion.

“I looked at his tackle technology and tackle selection and he came off the line pretty hard on the short side and I think it surprised him,” he said.

“I’ve seen him do that tackle a thousand times over the summer so I’m not too concerned about that.

“It’s too early to tell – we’ll be following protocols. He had the summer off, he had eight games off last year, he had some longer breaks.

“We’ll follow the guidelines – he obviously won’t play, we have a five-day turnaround time to patch this group together and he won’t be a part of it, and neither will Brails.

“We’ll take care of all that later.”

Newcastle have been ravaged by mass injuries throughout the park, with Tyson Frizell and Jack Johns also struggling to complete the 80 minutes and are now unlikely to face the Dolphins in Round 3.

O’Brien praised his side’s resilience after losing two of their key players early in the afternoon.

“What was going through my mind – we lost the six and the nine, that was starting to worry me,” he said.

“It’s really hurting your rotation, we had to get some big minutes out of the Saifitis and these guys.

“I’m really proud of them – we’ve struggled with quite a lot. Last week, there were some things in our DNA that sort of prepared us to do something like this—although not as much as what we had to contend with tonight.

“We talked about it in the hall at the time – last year it seemed to have gotten a little too hard for us at times.

“I think we’ve proved over the past few weeks, and we’ve got all summer, that things don’t always go to plan for us, but that doesn’t mean we turn it up.

“That’s a really good example of us being able to come out the other side.”

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