Should the Broncos make a play for Ponga

[Socnorb]

I think we should make play for Ash Taylor as long as the money is right.
he needs a fresh start and would need to earn a spot.

 

[Super Freak]

Of course Ponga is overrated. Currently.

He is good against the bottom and middle of the table teams but when it comes to the top teams, different story. Very inconsistent.

He isn't the best player in the game, he isn't even in the top 5. And he definitely isn't worth $1.5 million.

He has the potential, but it's going to be a few years before he lives up to it. He's still very young and has some things to learn and improve on.

 

[broncsgoat]

Of course Ponga is overrated. Currently.

He is good against the bottom and middle of the table teams but when it comes to the top teams, different story. Very inconsistent.

He isn't the best player in the game, he isn't even in the top 5. And he definitely isn't worth $1.5 million.

He has the potential, but it's going to be a few years before he lives up to it. He's still very young and has some things to learn and improve on.

Can you name 5 other players you'd pick before him? Salary restrictions aside.

I'm only thinking Tturbo, Taumololo and maybe Tedesco. He's a push with RTS imo.

 

[pagey]

Agree, people who think he's overrated simply don't watch enough football. Even if you completely remove the sheer individual brilliance he produces every single game, he's statistically in the top 4 fullbacks in the game at the age of 21. Fullbacks generally speaking don't hit their peak until 26-27.

Ted (26) - 16 games, 12 tries, 18 line-breaks, 113 tackle busts, 9 try assists, 11 line-break assists
RTS (26) - 18 games, 5 tries, 15 line-breaks, 104 tackle busts, 11 try assists, 13 line-break assists
Turbo (22) - 8 games, 5 tries, 13 line-breaks, 49 tackle busts, 7 try assists, 9 line-break assists
Ponga (21) - 15 games, 9 tries, 17 line-breaks, 78 tackle busts, 9 try assists, 10 line-break assists

If you ever have a chance to get one of these 4 guys, you take it.

The problem is we had him and now we can't afford him.
[automerge]1565235881[/automerge]

Can't help but feel that a good portion of the disregard for Ponga as a genuinely special talent stems solely from the fact we never picked him up as a kid, that he doesn't actually play for us, and that in all likelihood he maybe never will.

Honestly, if he was doing the things he does currently for the Knights in a Broncos jersey instead he'd just about have the keys to the city of Brisbane by now.

I'm not sure I'd stump up the $1.5 million for him (or any one single player at all for that matter) but in the conversation about who most justifies a sky high salary, both from a footballing and commercially lucrative perspective, Ponga would be as worthy a candidate as just about any other in the game right now.

Wrong , he was with us.

 

[mrslong]

Yes. Ponga please.

 

[Battler]

Ponga has all of the qualities to be a dominant no.6 aswell. I think he would develop into a better 6 than Milford ever could be.

Really? He was worse than Boyd when they moved him there earlier this season.

 

[Super Freak]

Can you name 5 other players you'd pick before him? Salary restrictions aside.

I'm only thinking Tturbo, Taumololo and maybe Tedesco. He's a push with RTS imo.

Cameron Smith, James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic, Jason Taumalolo, Luke Keary.

 

[broncsgoat]

Cameron Smith, James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic, Jason Taumalolo, Luke Keary.

I completely forgot about Smith. I would take him over Keary without thinking though.

 

[Kooly87]

The problem is we had him and now we can't afford him.
[automerge]1565235881[/automerge]

Wrong , he was with us.

We had him on a scolarship or something like that if I recall correctly. He never had a proper contract with us. Only makes it all the more damning that we could have had him but threw away that money elsewhere.

Kalyn Ponga playing for the Knights, after debuting and breaking through at the Cowboys, really sums up everything that's been so rotten about the player development at this once great club in the last decade.

 

[Dazza 92]

I completely forgot about Smith. I would take him over Keary without thinking though.

yeh...id narrowly put him ahead of Keary at the moment....but Pongas ceiling is WAY higher if you ask me...

 

[Kooly87]

I completely forgot about Smith. I would take him over Keary without thinking though.

He's comfortably better than Keary. That gap will only widen with time.

As for Smith, he's not really comparable because on face value he's got maybe 1-2 seasons left. With Ponga you're buying someone you can build around for the next decade.

 

[Harry Sack]

View attachment 5911
He is also an elite level goal kicker. 2017/18 stats don't mean a whole lot since he's only a backup kicker so wouldn't be practicing often.

I've always rated him and think he could be an awesome pickup. He's underrated so wouldn't break the bank and is a stable half with an excellent kicking game and also gives us a top tier goal kicker to boot.

Been a fan for a long time as well and if he was the right price, would be hard to pass up.

1.5mil for any player would give me pause tbh. He's ridiculously talented, that much is obvious. I can see the next few years being a back and forth battle between Tedesco, Turbo and Ponga for the Aus FB role. I don't think he's overrated but if the media could STFU every so often when he's on the field, that would be tits.

 

[Xzei]

i think the main problem is the rumored 1.5 mill for that price he is overrated.

 

[ostin86]

Really? He was worse than Boyd when they moved him there earlier this season.

Is that even possible?

 

[pagey]

We had him on a scolarship or something like that if I recall correctly. He never had a proper contract with us. Only makes it all the more damning that we could have had him but threw away that money elsewhere.

Kalyn Ponga playing for the Knights, after debuting and breaking through at the Cowboys, really sums up everything that's been so rotten about the player development at this once great club in the last decade.

Hardly, he was chased by the storm, roosters, reds , lions. So wasn't about who , it was where he wanted to go.

 

[Kooly87]

Hardly, he was chased by the storm, roosters, reds , lions. So wasn't about who , it was where he wanted to go.

You seem to have missed the point. You only have to go back a decade or so ago and there simply wasn't a question about where talented young kids growing up in Queensland wanted to go. Sadly, that's no longer the case these days...

 

[broncsgoat]

Been a fan for a long time as well and if he was the right price, would be hard to pass up.

1.5mil for any player would give me pause tbh. He's ridiculously talented, that much is obvious. I can see the next few years being a back and forth battle between Tedesco, Turbo and Ponga for the Aus FB role. I don't think he's overrated but if the media could STFU every so often when he's on the field, that would be tits.

I think all three will be in the team and tedesco is the most limited of them. His lack of versatility will mean he's the one where ponga and tturbo can both fill other positions.

 

[pagey]

You seem to have missed the point. You only have to go back a decade or so ago and there simply wasn't a question about where talented young kids growing up in Queensland wanted to go. Sadly, that's no longer the case these days...

No , it's just harder to keep them all. Alot of talented kids have chosen to stay here. It's also down to picking the right ones too , and more recently kids wanting a starting spot.
Take Taylor for example, has all the talent in the world and many thought he was ready. Got the spot, got the money but hasn't produced, no many expected that. Although put him in a good team and who knows.