2020 HEADLINE HOGGERS SIX NRL STARS WHO WILL DOMINATE THE SEASON

Kalyn Ponga

There is probably no more hyped-up player, no more overrated but at the same time immensely talented figure in the NRL than Kalyn Ponga. At 21 the fullback is entering just his fourth full year of first-grade. But at the Newcastle Knights, where he is poster boy, marquee man and match-winner all rolled into one, he has a lot to live up to.

Born in Western Australia to Kiwi parents, Ponga grew up in Queensland and later Palmerston North. A schoolboy star, he was on a scholarship with the Brisbane Broncos and also a promising Aussie Rules player. But it was in 2013 that he was snared by the North Queensland Cowboys at the age of 15.

He finished his schooling in Townsville and represented Australia at both touch football and schoolboy rugby league level. After starring for the Cowboys Under-20s, making the National Youth Competition Team of the Year for two years in a row, he made his NRL debut in 2016 at the age of 18 in a finals match against the Broncos.

Ponga was then lured to join Newcastle in 2018