The Newcastle Knights have reportedly pulled a three-year extension tabled to Kalyn Ponga due to the influence of the helmeted star's father, Andre.
As first reported by Dean Ritchie of The Daily Telegraph, the extension, which would have kept Ponga in the Hunter until the cessation of the 2027 season, was removed on Friday after a disagreement about which party would have the power to announce it.
According to Ritchie, Andre Ponga has unequivocally stressed that he and his son should have the honour of making the prospective deal known instead of the usual practice of allowing the club to break the good news.
With sources close to the Knights claiming that they have reached the end of their tether on matters relating to the 23-year-old's father, it is not yet known whether any further offers to remain in red and blue will arise.
The aforementioned extension would have seen Ponga land between $1.2 and $1.3 million for each of the final three years of the agreement, a jump from his current contract of $1 million for the 2022 season.
Should this be the end of one of the most drawn-out negotiations in recent rugby league history, Ponga will now be free to opt out of the final two seasons of his current deal with the Knights and walk to Redcliffe to become the Dolphins' inaugural marquee signings.
A further wrinkle in this Newcastle narrative came on Sunday morning following the suggestion that the Knights had begun pursuing Cameron Munster to join Adam O'Brien's ranks following the 2023 season.
Ponga will now have until Round 10 of this season to announce whether he is willing to opt into the final pair of campaigns on his current contract at McDonald Jones Stadium.