A rival NRL club is reportedly set to make a play for one of the competition's best players, Newcastle Knights star fullback Kalyn Ponga as they attempt to lure him away from his current team.
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.
The highest-paid player in the NRL on a reported contract worth $1.4 million a season until the end of 2027, Wide World of Sports have now revealed that the New Zealand Warriors are set to "make a play" for his services.
The surprising 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 also 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."
The surprising report comes as the rumour mill continues to swirl surrounding the future of Warriors fullback Charnze Nicholl Klokstad, who remains off-contract at the end of the season and has been linked with a potential move to the Super League.
A dual-international for the Cook Islands (three games) and the New Zealand Kiwis (ten matches), Nicoll-Klokstad has been one of the best players at the Warriors since returning to the club in 2023 after a four-year stint with the Canberra Raiders.
A key component of the club reaching the 2023 Preliminary Final before going down to the Brisbane Broncos, the 29-year-old is still in the prime of his career and has plenty to give on the football field.
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Previous reports from The Daily Telegraph revealed that the off-contract Nicoll-Klokstad is set to reject a contract extension offer from the New Zealand Warriors and will instead sign with a Super League club for next season.
It is understood that his preference is to move to the Super League with the Catalans Dragons "seriously interested" in recruiting him following the departure of French international Arthur Mourgue and the pending retirement of Sam Tomkins, per Love Rugby League.
