KNIGHTS coach Adam O'Brien has admitted he is concerned about Kalyn Ponga's long-term future, as Andrew Johns declared the club needed to implement a plan to "protect" their co-captain from further concussions.
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Ponga remains sidelined indefinitely after he was knocked senseless in Sunday's 14-12 win against Wests Tigers. It was just his second game (plus a pre-season trial) since being stood down for the final six rounds of last season after a spate of head knocks.
The 24-year-old is in the hands of neurologist Dr Chris Levi, who faces the daunting challenge of trying to determine when Ponga can resume his career.
O'Brien said Ponga was "in good spirits" but the coach was candid when asked if he was concerned about the long-term future of the highest-paid player in Newcastle's history.
"Of course, I'm a human being," O'Brien said.
"Everyone is. I'm not just talking about his footy future.
"It's not a good look what you saw on the weekend."
O'Brien said it was "too early" to speculate about what position Ponga should play.
But Johns, who works as a consultant on O'Brien's staff, has joined a growing list of commentators to query the off-season decision to switch Ponga from fullback to five-eighth.
"When Kalyn Ponga returns to the field, the Knights need to have a solid plan about what his future looks like and how they can protect him on the field ... I don't know what the solution will be, but Newcastle have to do some thinking about where best to play him," Johns wrote in his Sydney Morning Herald column.
"Whether that's staying in the front line defending, or dropping back to fullback when his team doesn't have the ball, it's got to be a clear plan which everyone is behind.
"He's such a special talent and we need to protect his health so players like him can stay in the game as long as possible."
Asked if he would reassess Ponga's positional switch, O'Brien said the Knights were "nowhere near that point yet" and pointed out that all the previous concussions had occurred when he was playing fullback.
"That's his first one [defending] in the front line," O'Brien said.
"The concussions he had last year were at fullback."
O'Brien said he expected the Knights to have a clearer prognosis for Ponga by "early next week".
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