The Dark Arts
Kalyn Ponga's contract & other NRL funk, Ryan Thomas' injuries, All Whites fixtures & Kiwi nominees for Aussie NBL awards
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Podcast
TNC Variety Show 60
The Niche Cast: Nature’s Patience
Reading Menu
What’s With All These Rocks Or Diamonds Wellington Phoenix Results? (Football)
Flying Kiwis – April 19 (Football)
2021/22 Plunket Shield All Stars (Cricket)
Scotty’s Word
Kalyn Ponga continues to flex power...
Throughout these emails I have touched base with Kalyn Ponga and the Ponga whanau flexing their power, so I was obviously intrigued by recent developments. Ponga has inked a new deal with Newcastle Knights and there was plenty of drama floating around this deal, although there has been plenty of drama floating around Ponga's future ever since he arrived in Newcastle.
A quick search brings up headlines about Ponga's contract and various clauses from each year since arriving in Newcastle. The fact that each year seemed to bring a new clause in Ponga's contract is notable and I have been observing recent matters through this lens. Signing with a club tends to mean that things settle, security is offered and yet Ponga's career has seen new contract dramas/headlines pop up every year.
These wrinkles have ensured that Ponga constantly has his contract upgraded. In 2019, Ponga had two years to run on his contract and in 2020, Ponga signed a four-year deal. That would take Ponga through to 2024 but that contract apparently had clauses to allow him to book a departure by June 1st, leave if Knights won a Grand Final this year or if they fail to make the finals. Ponga has now signed a five-year deal running until the end of 2027.
Ponga signed a four-year deal in 2018, then a four-year deal in 2020 and now a five-year deal in 2022. All those deals were signed with years left on the current deal, likely resulting in those years being upgraded with the new deal.
All this information is murky because we know NRL salary cap and contract business is not transparent, thus salary cap dramas are easy to fall into. This also makes it impossible to breakdown salary caps as they do in NBA and NFL, leaving us to ponder vague details such as "a five-year deal worth north of $5 million". Also important in all NRL deals is understanding that the salary cap steadily increases, chuck in a the Redcliffe expansion team and there is more money in the market.
Swing back to Ponga and I'm balancing vibes. There is a cynical vibe as Kalyn's father Andre is pulling strings which has come with anecdotes of him enjoying such power, using that power to leave Cowboys and now flexing that power to force Knights into bigger deals - even though they appeared to already have Ponga under contract.
Andre is heavily involved in Kalyn's business matters. Andre also worked with Knights wahine and that's why so many Aotearoa wahine joined Knights for this NRLWahine season. My knowledge of this can lead me to ponder how the Ponga whanau has held Knights hostage with clauses and the threat of him leaving. Also holding Knights hostage by leveraging this power to get Andre jobs and some level of power in this bubble.
I don't really care for the old school Aussie vibes in NRL stuff though, so I don't really care if the Ponga whanau are holding Knights hostage. The Pongas seem like a lovely whanau and they don't appear to operate with the dark arts, instead they know Kalyn's value and how that can provide for their whanau. There is plenty to learn here though and no NRL player has leveraged their power like Ponga has done since leaving Cowboys for Knights.
Back then it was the threat of Ponga going to AFL, All Blacks or another NRL club. Ponga then ensured that there were enough exits in his NRL contract to provide constant upgrades and these upgrades have come just as the salary cap increases, just as another NRL team enters the market.
Aussie NRL folk won't like this, hence so many weird stories are shared about Ponga's contracts. Aussie NRL folk don't like folks tapping into their power, but it's all good if they do so via traditional routes such as player agents etc. Andre Ponga is just a father from Aotearoa, an outsider, and this is why various Aussie media like to portray such matters negatively.
Siosifa Talakai NSW buzz...
Cronulla Sharks' Siosifa Talakai is racking up destructive performances and thus, generating NSW Origin buzz. Let's slide back to 2016 and 2017 when Talakai played two years of Junior Kiwis for another intriguing eligibility battle, further complicated by Talakai being born and raised in Sydney. Talakai is also eligible for Tonga and he only has to check in with 2017 Junior Kiwis comrades Jarome Luai, Manase Fainu and Moeaki Fotuaika to see that Junior Kiwis selection doesn't mean anything.
One twist is that Aotearoa Kiwis coach Michael Maguire was Rabbitohs coach when Talakai made his NRL debut in 2016. Talakai played NRL in his Junior Kiwis years which highlights his talent even back then and Maguire would have overseen his development in a tough Rabbitohs system. Everything I have seen suggests that Maguire is active in connecting with Aotearoa Kiwis players and I'm curious what this means for Talakai.
Talakai can easily take the NSW/Tonga path. Aotearoa has plenty of depth and the abundance mindset means Aotearoa isn't chasing these types of eligibility cases. I predict that this will cause some issue in Australia as more Origin players opt to represent other nations, while old school Aussies stay in the 'gotta be an Aussie to play Origin' zone.
This is all complex but the beauty of a World Cup year is that international footy is put in the spotlight, providing clarity for tricky eligibility battles.
Funky Kiwi-NRL deep cuts...
Let's venture up to Queensland for this email where U18 Mal Meninga Cup hits finals mode. Townsville Blackhawks are part of the Cowboys system and their U18 team features a Kiwi-NRL prop duo of Jeremiah Matautia (Otara) and Henry Teutau (Marist).
In the U21s Colts competition, things get even funkier with Caius and Felix Fa'atili (Hornby) named as Wynnum's prop duo. Caius has settled into this level of footy since leaving Christchurch ahead of the 2020 season while Felix was playing U18s this season, now promoted to U21s. These lads are both in the Broncos system and I've got Broncos as having one of the best crops of young Kiwi-NRL talent.
Will Young in County Championship...
This morning I wrote about Will Young's wider context just as he starts his second County stint, this time with Northamptonshire. Last winter Young was with Durham in Division Two and he's now in Div One, not-out on 10 (44) against Yorkshire at the time of writing. Young appears to be the best (international calibre) player in his team for this game, while Yorkshire have Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf as well as Sri Lankan batter Dimuth Karunaratne.
Young will then play Essex, Surrey, Warwickshire and Kent. Notable bowlers Young could face in these next few games: Mark Steketee, Simon Harmer (Essex), Sam Curran, Reece Topley, Jamie Overton (Surrey), Jackson Bird (Kent).
Aotearoa surfing…
Wildcard’s Notebook
Ryan Thomas Injury Wire…
Stink news through last night, Danny Hay confirming that Ryan Thomas will be unavailable for the World Cup playoff against Costa Rica in June. Thommo hasn’t played for PSV since having surgery in October and while he has gotten back into some individual training at the club within the past month, he still hasn’t rejoined the team for those sessions yet. His coach hasn’t ruled out a return to football before the end of the season but with PSV involved in a title race with five games remaining (about a month’s more footy) it feels unlikely that happens.
Even if it does he’s gonna be in no sort of shape for a game of World Cup qualifying playoff intensity. He’s not gonna get ninety minutes in before then, not when Thommo’s always tended towards cautious injury comebacks, taking his time and making sure things are done properly (whether that’s his call or his club’s call, dunno). Hay seems to want the group together as early as possible and in the NZ Football press release he referred to a pre-playoff camp starting in just over a month. Ryan Thomas is just not gonna be on that same timeline.
It’s stink news... but completely expected news. Thomas hasn’t played for the All Whites since the pandemic anyway so it’s not like they have to adjust what they were doing. Luckily Joe Bell and Marko Stamenic exist. There’s a bit of depth in the midfield areas. Ryan Thomas would make things even better but it is what it is. He’s injured.
Thomas is only 27 so he’s got plenty more footy in him and the best case scenario here would involve him being back for a November World Cup if we’re fortunate enough to qualify for it. But these knee injuries are a real worry.
This latest one would appear to stem back to the ACL tear he copped in his first week of training with PSV after making that transfer, a serious injury that has led to regular injury niggles ever since. When coach Roger Schmidt revealed in a pre-game press conference in November that Ryan Thomas had undergone surgery, it was only referred to as “minor surgery” (possible oxymoron alert) with the intention of helping him overcome some of those recurring issues. Certainly didn’t get the impression that it could be a season-ender yet here we are.
If he doesn’t play against this term then it would mean that RT has only featured in 33 Eredivisie games for PSV across the four seasons that he’s been at the club. Only 22 of them starts. An Eredivisie season is 34 games long so that’s basically just one in every four games that he’s played in.
Which gets to another worrying idea: his contract is up at the end of this season. This from Flying Kiwis this week (which you’ve probably already read but meh)...
There has been some chat as to whether PSV might decide upon an early release to that contract which is apparently something that they have the option to do so long as they trigger it before the end of April. Any such decision has not been made yet and would probably require the input of incoming manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Alternatively they could just, you know... re-sign him?
BD.nl on April 4: “We hope [Philipp Mwene] can still play this season. That also applies to Ryan Thomas, who we want to get fit again in the coming weeks,” [says Roger Schmidt]. Thomas' expiring contract has not yet been cancelled by PSV. According to PSV, if the club would like to do so, this should be done before May 1 and not before April 1 because he is still active with PSV under his first contract.
So make of that what you will. PSV does have an option to extend him for one more year but it also might be worth hedging some bets and praying for PEC Zwolle to get out of the relegation zone over the rest of the campaign so that Thomas still has that option available to him if he’s released.
Also did you notice the All Whites have confirmed a game against Peru in the week before the Costa Rica playoff? One of the least surprising fixtures I’ve ever seen but a lovely one all the same. A strong opposition (probably stronger than Costa Rica, definitely much stronger than any nation the All Whites have played since covid) for a timely tune-up. Plus another game against an as-yet-unnamed team afterwards.
The reason it’s so unsurprising is that the night before NZ vs Costa Rica, Peru is playing the winner of Australia vs UAE in the other intercontinental match – also in Qatar. Aussie vs UAE is around the same time as the All Whites vs Peru match. Both those teams assembling squads and in need of a friendly match so they’re not coming in cold to their playoffs. Perfect alignment. Not sure who they’ll play in the other game but it’s a closed door match and would not be shocked if it’s an unofficial game. Definitely can’t see Hay overusing his starters for that.
The Timeline:
Saturday 5 June – All Whites vs Peru
Thursday 9 June – Closed-door warm-up game
Tuesday 14 June – All Whites vs Costa Rica
(Note that those times are local, expect NZT kickoffs in the early/morning range the next day)
NBL Awards Season…
Say would you look at that? The NBL season has been a bit of a downbuzz from a kiwi perspective with the Breakers wetting the bed yet again and most of the Aotearoa lads on other teams only playing smaller roles. But Shea Ili has been a delightful exception to that trend and was handsomely rewarded when these shortlists were revealed. Top three for Sixth Man of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. What a guy.
Keep in mind that he’s already won a Most Improved award, something that compatriot Yanni Wetzell is hoping to add to his own personal mantelpiece and if he does it’ll mean that award has been won by a New Zealander in three of the last five seasons (given that Reuben Te Rangi took it home the season after Shea Ili did so).
Te Rangi has also won a Sixth Man of the Year trophy however the only kiwi to win DPOY was Dillon Boucher way back in the day. 2009-10 season. Immediately after him Damian Martin went and won five in a row (plus another a couple years later) and the trophy is now named after him.
Also, as cringe as the Breakers have been at promoting their two French NBA prospects – Ousmane Dieng and Hugo Besson – as a distraction from their many recurring defeats, worth a shout out for Dieng here who has made significant strides after being kinda awful early on.
He’s improved his defensive presence and gotten a handle on his jump shot which has allowed his thrilling athleticism and length to become much more of a factor. Genuine improvements despite his team being pants the whole way through. Credit where it’s due. He’s been shortlisted for Rookie of the Year (the last two winners of that award were LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey).
Dieng and Besson have both already declared for the NBA Draft, getting those big dog American scout-types sniffing. But guys like Givony, remember that it’s their job to pump up prospects. They’re not picking pet projects or anything (and if they are it’s because of close relationships with agents, let’s be honest).
Hence we await Draft Day to see where the two fellas end up. There’s no doubt that Dieng will be drafted. Probably Besson too. But they were probably going to be drafted whether they played for the Breakers or not, it’s not like the Breakers discovered them. They just paid for their work experience years. RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball both ended up going lower than they should have after playing in the NBL and that feels like it’s probably going to continue as a pattern. NBA scouts don’t value overseas leagues as much as they should. I’d be shocked if Ousmane Dieng goes in the lottery picks and I think Besson is probably looking at mid-second round areas. But you never know.