Do we like them?

Do we like Kalyn Ponga?

Our score: 7 out of 10. No harmful words or company found, a charity role, and a handful of ordinary mistakes that he has owned.

Ponga grew up on both sides of the Tasman in a footy-mad family, and he has said he dreamed of pulling on the All Blacks jersey in Palmerston North. He broke through as a teenage fullback and became the Newcastle Knights' skipper and the face of the club. Locals still talk about him as the bloke who has had to carry the whole town's hopes.

His rocky patches are mostly about leadership. In August 2022 a video emerged of him and a teammate leaving a hotel toilet cubicle, and the NRL integrity unit investigated and handed out no sanctions. Six months later he said “I was in the wrong” for putting himself in that position, and called it “one of the most pivotal moments in my life”.

Then came the Kangaroos stoush. In 2024 he withdrew from the Australian squad to focus on pre-season at Newcastle, was told he couldn't pull out unless injured, and copped criticism, including from coach Mal Meninga. Two years on he says he simply “can't wear a jersey I don't feel right in”. Where you land depends on whether you read that as a man being honest about his identity or one who handled the exit badly.

On the harm check, the record is clean but quiet. Nothing in the reporting we read shows him saying or doing anything against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the planet, and no dodgy company turned up. He's not a political voice, so we can't say he's an active ally either. That's an absence of evidence, not a gold star.

On the field, he was sent off in Origin I this year for a high shot on NSW winger Tolu Koula, which a match review committee graded as a grade two shoulder charge. He pleaded guilty early, paid a $6,900 fine and was cleared to play on. It's a footy offence, not a character one.

Verdict expanded: he's a genuinely likeable captain with a couple of dumb moments and one awkward international drama. We'd happily cheer him on, with an asterisk for the pub and the Kangaroos fumble.