You’ve got Radley for the chooks who stayed in the bubble for the whole season to help the boys out despite being injured and then you’ve got Ponga from the knights who can’t even be bothered to watch his team play. I’m not a fan of either club but you can see the differences in the culture in this comparison right here.

Something to consider; A Penrith player recently was suspended for a dangerous tackle. The following week he wasn't at home or at a local watering hole feeling sorry for himself. He was at the game supporting his team. He made the right decision! This Newcastle player is out for the season with a head injury. As the team captain he should be at the game supporting his mates. Had he done so this mess that ended up on camera may never have happened. So why wasn't he supporting his team?

I'm in the UK now, but know a lot of people around Newcastle, and a LOT of these players are not liked at all out in public. Sad , but true.

If they drug tested all the players from every team there would be no competition lol. They also need to extend drug testing to the referees and bunker officials so Graham Annesley doesn't have to do his weekly apologies for their incompetence🤣

If Joey johns had the cameras they have today the media would break the simulation

The roosters paid cronk a million a year for 2 years and won the comp two years in a row. Ponga is a great player but is definitely overpaid

I might be alone here but I really don't mind footy players having a social life. Nobody got hurt. Play on.

The kids a dud and by all accounts he’s an absolute Derrick around Newcastle.

As a Novocastrian with deep roots in the Hunter and a lifelong Knights fan I am saying please, please let him go. Take the pain and pay part of his salary and let him go to uncle Wayne, we unfortunately have to cut the rot and build on Hunter Valley boys.

Captain of the Knights, punishment enough......

Get Mark Sargent & Paul Harragon to give Ponga a motivation talk on club pride. Real Newcastle men.

1.2 mill to finish last and your captain can't handle his drink... what an amazing club

guys, don't bloody talk over each other! allow each speaker to finish his point instead of cutting him off.

I never thought I'd see the day where William H Macy was going off his head and Paul Kent is quiet and contained.

Ponga has clearly risked his life in the backline putting his body on the line to save his pathetic team & has stayed on as he is loyal - despite the fans being the opposite… how sad ponga watched the game at the pub with friends or family

Newcastle was built by Joey Johns on three T's Kenty, Toughness Tomorrow and Trips

Surely it's time for ponga to go, Newcastle loyal supporters deserve so much more ,

In five years time THEY Will NOT win a grand final with Kalyan Ponga at the helm 💯 percent 👎

Ponga for the next Newcastle Immortal, Joey's stain runs deep

I use to work as a cleaner at a casino and the only two reasons two men were in a single cubicle was to snort coke or blow each other, so if his drug test comes up negative then he likes a blow n' go. However considering that cocaine can cause damage to your brain, even when used only a few times and considering all of ponga's concussion issues I wouldn't be surprised he was just snorting 😤

Ponga has been told he's the greatest since he was 16, the ego would be off the charts.. Of course he thinks he's bigger than the team & probably is at the moment

You hit the nail on the head Kenty the best teams where built from the local league I still remember Mark Hughes 3 tries for the dogs back in the 90s.

Ponga and his dad are only committed to the money not Newcastle

He plays for QLD, nothing will happen. He's untouchable.

Imagine paying $1m a year for Kalyn Ponga who only ends up playing 7 full games (and losing most of them)...

Dog act!!! Such a grub teams playing and he’s a club partying Shows how much of a captain he is Andrew Johns will be furious die hard knight!!!

Yeah drug test them now 3 days later when it's out of your system with in 48hrs. See ya Ponga he's 1000 percent dedicated to him self and that's all there is to it. Lucky Andrew Johns never had cameras around him or regular drug test.

Joey linking back up with the club is really showing lol .

Best should be stood down for having too much body fat between his ears, over rated big time

I called these dramas when he signed that big contract the other month. He’s in the game for himself. Not a team player and never a captain

seems to be drama every week in the nrl. this though is a storm in a tea cup. I think they want to get rid of ponga because he’s under performing

From a legal position, Ponga did nothing wrong going out on the drink. He's not in training and effectively what happened was he was involved in "an after work activity". Morals are not involved. Every worker in Australia has the right to go out drinking when not working. Also the media blow up insinuating there was homosexual activity in the cubical exposes the League and the media to Ponga lodging a defamation case.

Well said kenty

The first guy needs to calm down 🤣🤣🤣

What I can’t understand is that they had a go at Klemmer the other week - a bloke who was passionate about playing his best footy rather than being subbed off. And here they are pandering to Ponga and this embarrassing scenario he has placed himself in!

The problem is Ponga isn't Newcastle,he,s not there cause he really wants to be there he,s there for the money 💰 and he will never get one over the fans, every big name Newcastle get either under perform or they want to leave, something is going wrong big time 😠

Wasnt Adam O’brien assistant under Robinson at the roosters. How is the circus going on with a coach that came from that organisation

He’s a human being just bc he’s a professional athlete doesn’t mean he can’t drink alcohol

I like that you all seem to forget he's able to play better at origin because of the team he's in. It suits his game better to be playing off the back off the better players

What else do you expect from the club of Joey Johns, more pingers less coke boys

So funny kennty when they said about mitchell pearce, great culture! Out off the Sydney bubble and whhoops

check the out raged flogs..who gives a crap, as long as they are clean and fit on match day, go for it. The real problem are the dog dobbers, face down in the urinal and a week in hospital for all dog dobbers.

Re: The video title… The Knights have “leadership”??? 🤨🤨🤨

Thats why you don't give a young player a million dollars , for starters he ain't that good nor worth a million a year noooo way... he is young and has no respect for the club in my opinion for what he done... make them prove and earn their way to a million dollars... and by the way he spends more time on the sideline injured than playing on the field... money thrown out the window at the nights

These reporters need to live a little

Been going on at Newcastle for a long time grab local juniors stay patient with them build from the ground up buying in doesn't work

I agree it's not the best look. Were they doing something dodgy? Maybe but unless there's proof then you can't punish him for anything. Get some club leaders and former players and have a chat to him. And saying he plays great for Qld but not the knights is a stupid comparison. Playing origin you are in a team full of great players and in a very different environment. Again it's not a great look but unless there's proof of him doing something wrong move on.

they didn't turn the comments off

the knights dont have a halfback all there issues begin and end right there

Ponga is on 40k per game - win or lose or even play. O’Brien is on the same. Who is signing the cheques.

Time to test the panel, I say.

Andrew Johns is shitting bricks, he is gonna have to put the boots back on........

Why do they wait like 4 days to drug test them, do it the next day, cocaine is out of your system in about 2 days

Get rid of him.

Why didn't the Captain (Ponga) attend the match? A leader? Far from it. On the drink after a head injury? I would be concerned that Insurance wouldn't cover any future issues that might come up as a result of a massive concussion. He did drink that much he was sick. No company would pay him or cover the Club. Its like not having insurance on your home that burns down, but you still have to pay the mortgage. IMO, Ponga is too immature, and obviously arrogant. Too overpaid, the kid is above average at best, not worth 1M per year. I'd rather 2 players than half-job Ponga. He played half the season ffs. Also thought the Immortal was mentoring him, must have had on his origin headphones when being 'mentored'. Reckon its time to punt ponga and free up the Salary Cap for a Full Season Player. Plenty out there.

He is a professional, an adult not someone playing local weekend club footy.

id go to jail to bash crawly

Punishment? Guilty until proven innocent is it? Lol If he passes the drug test, there should be zero punishment. Going in the cubicle with another dude is no crime! He literally did nothing. And the fact he was on the beers whilst his team was playing I have no issue. He was probably watching the game in the sports bar and needed to take a slash. It’s the Knights fault for not having in place compulsory for players to go to the games or watch games at the clubhouse. I’m not a KP fan at all, but he’s getting thrown under the bus here.

Are they not tested all the time anyway?

Knights deserve this mess everyone was saying when they beat the roosters knights are gonna win the comp now those people have egg on there face

No player is worth a million dollars a year dont care how good they are , look at all the drams that have come with these million dollar contracts, pay every single player 500k no matter how good or their posted play , let's see the passion for the game and the club be front and center

So now we have to ask why Ben Barba was targeted by the NRL four days after winning the premiership?! It destroyed the young champion and left a gaping hole in the Cronulla Sharks chances of going back to back. I like ponga, but the precedence has been set. He needs to be banned from the game for a long time.

We don’t want him, overplayed diva, only took captaincy to boost his packet….him and his father have taken the club for a joke….medically retire or sack him and throw the book at Munster who can actually control and win games

You can’t compare his performance from Queensland to his performance at the club because Queensland play as a team and they pick the best players from Queensland so everyone give their best for Queensland and all the Queensland players are in-form players, can you say the same for the Nights?

The game plan from Adam O`Brien --do the players adhere to it or just go on the field and play 5 up the middle followed by a kick. The team captain must not rate a listen from his fellow teammates.

Is it a good idea that a player, who is out for the remainder of the season due to a brain injury, is spending his spare time getting pissed out of his mind? I would be interested to hear from a medical expert.

Vastly overrated player. That’s his biggest offence. Otherwise…play on.

People say Ponga played well in origin 3, that's one game of the year, what happen to the rest of the season?

Be out of his system time they tested him That why they use it 2 days max

I’m burning my kp Madison head gear idgaf

Knights management stuffed up does ponga have a bit of talent ? Yes is ponga leadership material ? All indicators would suggest no so all they have done is pay overs for a decent player who saves his best performances for rep footy well done Newcastle knights

Happens every weekend

My opinion get rid of him he’s to fragile and to stupid …Newcastle don’t need him the money he gets to much money and it got to his head. Don’t trust him he’s to wild ,careless and he don’t give a crap discipline is what you must have to be Captain sack him 👍

better off going back to Rugby......still a chance of making the ABs if he applies himself less head-knocks as well

We don’t know the facts yet!

Drug test him , suspend him if found guilty , and put him on a plan because with his concussion rate that becomes dangerous, I’ve stopped drinking because of brain tumours , anything neurological shouldn’t be ignored and the knights and Ponga have a thing called DUTY OF CARE , I’m a Storm supporter and a QLD supporter too , but he needs to go .

Am I the only one who thought they were doing something else in there and not drugs? 🤔

David riccio should be on to replace that fossil buzz.

C'mon on, Andrew Jones played for the knights on drugs. They didn't care then why now

Please stop the conspiracy theories the true story is Ponga had a runny nose and Mann was helping apply some nostril drops

Kalyn has destroyed his brand. Money changes people , its changed him . They stop playing good footy to mediocre , these players hanging with him are bludgers. The sooner clubs put a line in the sand , if your not serious impliment fines ,or stand him down. There are players out there who need a chance .

Im a Kinights supporter but they are a joke. My nephew is a handy young footballer, when the Knights came knocking I told him to not even consider it. Stick with the Roosters or go to the Storm if he got the chance.

Since when is it legal to film inside a bathroom? You shouldn't even be allowed to use this footage against a player.

The NRL has continually had drama and disgrace for decades. No other sport in Australia has this history. Something wrong with the intelligence of the players and they have to take responsible for their own actions.

Crawley is going to cry😪

Golden Boy is not worth the money they stupidly decided to pay him.

Kenty said it best. Knights walk around like they’re super stars. Really they should be hiding they’re embarrassing and should be ashamed of themselves

He is a disgrace get rid of him no example for the youth of today and a piss poor example to his team mates

On the drink????? Yeah right my name is WILLY not SILLY.... ex security here..... he was in the dunny doing lines of coke... GET REAL EVERYBODY

These blokes love to bash a queenslander. Put Cleary or Edwards in the same situation and see how they react. Bunch of BS.

So big Daddy has gone south, wow how about it yes the Knights has problems not just one player but the whole team down to management. Need to learn, adapt and look after each other. Mental health is the issue with culture. Put him in, teach him, and teach all.

It’s the boys fist drink 🍺

Seems to me Newcastle have always had a drug culture, just ask joey

Nobody at Newcastle is pulling these guys in line . See JWH rossting Walker clearly Ponga is not the guy

I used to go for the knight but pongA wat acting weird and now I know why

Geez you blokes love make a mountain out of a molehill, put them all on ankle bracelets

$19,230 a week to play a half arsed game of footy. Maybe discipline will sought out these spoilt entitled new aged footy players…farking embarrassing to watch and it’s probably why I don’t watch footy anymore & only watch the old school players on podcast or shows!

We don't know ponga took drugs or not but these 4 dude all sounding like r on drugs .

Headline says lost their identity haha hmm I think many would suggest they are living up to their identity

Ponga still celebrating state of origin win? Lol