An NRL club has reportedly denied links to Newcastle Knights fullback and 2023 Dally M winner Kalyn Ponga after previous reports indicated that they were set to "make a play" for his services.
Signing with the Knights in 2018 from the North Queensland Cowboys, Ponga has quickly become the best player at the club and managed to win the Dally M Medal in 2023 and represent the QLD Maroons in eight matches between 2018 and most recently 2024.
Whilst Ponga may be the highest-paid player in the NRL on a reported contract worth $1.4 million a season until the end of 2027, that hasn't stopped continuous rumours emerging over the past 12 months that he could be on the move away from Newcastle - and could even leave before the end of his current contract ends.
Although Wide World of Sports revealed last week that the Warriors were set to "make a play" for Ponga's services, The New Zealand Herald has now reported that the Warriors have had no formal or informal discussions with Ponga or his management.
The development surrounding Ponga's future comes as he has previously been linked with a move to the Sydney Roosters (who have also been linked with Daly Cherry-Evans) and a potential cross-code switch to he 15-man code.
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"The bigger story out of this is what it means for Kalyn Ponga and his future. He's got two years to run at the Knights," journalist Andrew Webster said on SEN's Morning Glory recently.
"The Roosters are definitely looking at trying to get Ponga there from 2028-onwards and it's all part of a bigger rebuild at that club."
Despite links to the Warriors, the Newcastle Knights have made it no secret that they are attempting to tie him up on a long-term contract and extend his stay at the Knights, "for life".
This comes after they signed Dylan Brown from the Parramatta Eels.
"We want him here for life," Knights recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
"We haven't spoken about extending beyond 2027 because I want to get the roster into shape first. There's no rush.
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"Right now he might hesitate and want to see where we are heading. And that's fair enough.
"He's spoken about his dream of winning a title here and we've got to build the right squad to achieve that.
"Kalyn loves it here. The lifestyle suits him, his mum and dad are here, he lives 100 metres from the beach and I think he's happy here."
