Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga has finally faced the media in regards to last season's toilet cubicle saga, in which the Queensland Maroons fullback was booted from a venue alongside team mate Kurt Mann.
Ponga and Mann were ejected from the Hotel Delaney in Newcastle within 30 minutes of arriving after the pair were discovered in a toilet cubicle together.
Fans immediately jumped to the worst conclusions, resulting in the pair being drug tested after the incident, however Kalyn was clear on Monday when addressing the controversial moment - he was sick.
The Knights were playing the Broncos in Brisbane at the time of their ejection, with Ponga sidelined following repeated concussions, while Mann was rehabbing an injury of his own, adding another layer to the incident.
Ponga was adamant when speaking to the media on Monday morning.
โI was sick,โ Ponga said during a mixer.
โThe process of the whole integrity unit going through what they went through, and being through my concussion at that time and not being able to play and show everyone that I do care about the club, was tough for me.
โI have reflected upon my responsibilities as a leader. I have learnt some lessons from that time. I just want to set new standards, be a better leader for this team and the boys I am playing with.
โIt was a period that I will look back on and hopefully down the track - and even now - it is probably one of the most difficult moments of my life.
โI have learnt a lot from that time. I have put things in place that will help me be a better person and hopefully be a better leader as well.โ
Ponga was quick to admit his fault in the incident, and defended Kurt Mann, declaring the lock forward was simply helping out a mate.
โHe was there to help. Food that I had earlierโฆ.. I can't go back and change anything.
โThe only thing I can do is live in the now and my actions moving forward, I can learn from those lessons, I can learn from that period of time.
โI can't change it. It is about how you react and how you respond. I have reflected. I definitely have. I didn't go away from that incident and not take any lessons out of it.
โI shouldn't have been out or anything like that in the first place. I was in the wrong there.โ
Ponga has vowed that he hasn't just put the incident behind him but learnt from it, and believes he'll be a better captain for it in the long run after retaining the 'c' next his name in 2023.
โMy demeanour and the way I am, I am pretty light hearted,โ Ponga said.
โI like to see the good things in a lot of things. Leadership, growing up, maturity, all those things - it is part of time.
โLeadership in light of last year's incident has put it at the forefront. It is something that I need to keep working on.
โI don't think I am the best leader that I want to be if you know what I mean. I have so much growth in this area but I am prepared to put in the work.
โI know how much this town cares about the team, about the club and the success of the club. I want to show we care as well.โ
Kalyn will line up at five-eighth for the first time since 2019 in this week's trial match against the Parramatta Eels, and begin his scrum base partnership with star recruit Jackson Hastings.
