By
A couple of rugby league legends have raised fears over Newcastle Knights star Kalyn Ponga’s long-term health after he was again rubbed from a game due to a failed head injury assessment.
Ponga left the field in the eighth minute of the Knights’ Friday night clash with the Roosters after Matt Lodge collected him high with a lazy arm.
And the fact the Knights co-captain failed his HIA after what appeared to be an innocuous hit left Andrew Johns and Cameron Smith concerned.
READ MORE: Ex-Ferrari boss gives rare Schumacher update
READ MORE: How Bulldogs breakout star is learning from best
READ MORE: Gus explains the mistake Tigers can’t make
“When you get head knocks they accumulate,” Johns said on Nine’s half-time coverage.
“Sometimes you just get tapped on the head and you can get concussed. That wasn’t really a big contact, which is a real worry for Kalyn.”
“Real concern, not only for Kalyn, but the Newcastle Knights now,” Smith added.
“Speaking to Newcastle Knights officials, they say, understandably, he is sitting in the sheds watching this game and he is very shattered and very dejected,” said Nine reporter Danika Mason.
Knights coach Adam O’Brien said Ponga “feels like he’s letting everyone down” with his injury interruptions.
“He’s upset at the moment, yeah,” he said after the match.
Gagai sin-binned for abuse of ref
“He wants to come back and play well at the club, especially after Origin. We’ll go through the process during the week … he’s had a couple (of head knocks), but I’m more concerned how upset he is.
“It’s pretty emotional … but at the end of the day, he’s copped a whack to the head and he’s had a couple so we need to go and get it all looked at.”
Ponga’s concussion in this game followed failed HIAs in a Panthers clash in June and the second Origin encounter later in the month.
The Bunker deemed his concussion during the Origin clash a category-one head knock, meaning he was forced into a mandatory seven-day stand-down per the NRL’s concussion protocols.
NRL Highlights: Knights v Roosters – Round 19
Johns has been vocal on the impact of concussions from his playing days on his post-football life.
He wonders whether his diagnosed frontal lobe epilepsy, which has given him seizures, was caused by concussion suffered during his career.
Stream the NRL premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.
“I’ve had some dramas with concussion stuff after I’ve retired but that’s the consequences,” Johns told Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and The Eighth last year.
“I knew what I was getting myself into playing this game.
“If you’re a boxer or a UFC fighter, you go in the ring or octagon knowing there could be some consequences from putting everything on the line.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
Discussion about this post