KALYN Ponga returned to action off the bench as the Newcastle Knights lost 18-16 to North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday night.
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Ponga had not played for five games after suffering a concussion against Wests Tigers in round two and was eased back into the action by coach Adam O'Brien, entering proceedings in the 27th minute.
He got through the rest of the match unscathed, even coping with a towering Chad Townsend bomb that bounced directly on the top of his head.
In his 100th NRL game, Ponga threw the final pass for a Dominic Young in the 47th minute and was solid in defence and attack.
The Cowboys led 12-6 at half-time after Reece Robson and Kyle Feldt scored for the home team and Greg Marzhew crossed for the Knights.
After Cowboys winger Murray Taulagi was sin-binned in the 47th minute, tries by Young and Lachlan Fitzgibbon gave Newcastle the lead midway through the second half.
But North Queensland edged back ahead in the 65th minute when Tom Dearden scored and clung to their lead until full-time.
The result left Newcastle 11th on the points table after three wins and a draw from their first eight games.
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