Ponga has been widely criticised and accused of being disrespectful and making light of Brown's decision to quit after saying 'I was at lunch having a nice strawberry thickshake, so I wasn't too sad' when asked his reaction to the news.

He told the Newcastle Herald on Thursday the media storm that followed his comment had been an "eye-opener". "It's the first time I've been exposed like this I guess," he said.

Asked was he being disrespectful, he said: "Of course not. Anyone that knows me, anyone that's been around me and had contact with me knows my relationship with Browny and also his relationship with my family, would know that being disrespectful is not a part of me, especially to someone who is such a good bloke and has been so good to me and my family.

"Being disrespectful is probably the last thing I've ever wanted to be but that was the way it was portrayed. Because I know I'm not that sort of bloke and didn't have that intention, it was easier for me to put aside all the talk about it but it's been a bit of an eye-opener."

While he tried to ignore the negativity, Ponga admitted it got to him in the lead up to the Wests Tigers game.

"I don't know if stressed is the word but I had a couple of down days there just thinking about it," he said. "Obviously, it [Tigers] was my worst game as an individual and as a team. We didn't go out there to play like that. After the game, we were sort of staring at each other, we didn't know what happened.

"We don't want to use excuses or anything but I guess now we have the opportunity to play good at home on Saturday for the Old Boys and do all our fans proud and I guess ourselves more than anything."

Ponga spoke to Brown to apologise for the comment but was reassured there was no issue.

"It was a bit of a weird one because he knew there were no intentions even when he saw it," Ponga said. "But obviously, I spoke to him and said I didn't mean it that way and he was like 'you'll learn these things over time, you're only 21, it's a learning curve'."

READ MORE: Newcastle Knights

Ponga's mother took more convincing.

"Mum knows what I'm like but she still razzed me a few times," he said. "I can cop people criticising my game and how I play but when you are challenged or questioned over your integrity as a person, it's more than just questioning me because I get my values from mum and dad.

"That's where mum was a bit upset but I had to say to her I didn't mean it in that manner, you know I'm light-hearted and I'm a happy guy. But it still took her a couple of days for her to get her head around it.

"Browny's done a heap for my game and helped me out as a person off the field. He's been my coach while I've achieved some goals and dreams so it's been pretty sad to see him go out like he has."

While you're with us, did you know Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up to date with all the local news - sign up here.

IN NEWS TODAY: