Kalyn Ponga has acknowledged his mistake in being sent off in Origin 1 and vowed to improve his tackling, revealing plans to lean on Maroons coach Billy Slater for advice.
The Newcastle Knights star was controversially given his marching orders in the series opener, which proved the turning point as the Blues came from behind to win 22-20.
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Ponga believes his collision with Tolu Koula was head-on-head, but takes accountability for giving referee Ashley Klein a decision to make.
“I think I definitely need to acknowledge that I can be better in moments,” Ponga said after returning to Maroons camp.
“What happened in game one, whether right or wrong, I still put my team in a certain position, and I think moving forward in my career, not only this game, but every game that I play from now on, I don’t want that to happen.
“I think there’s definitely some accountability on my end.
“It is tough, it’s a position that happens in a split second. I’m running as fast as I can, someone else is running as fast as they can to a corner, and it’s not the most clear, easy thing to sort of do. But I do acknowledge I need to be better for sure.”
Since the series opener, Ponga has played two matches for the Knights, and raised eyebrows on Friday with another no-arm tackle on Melbourne Storm winger Will Warbrick.
The fullback escaped a reprimand from the referee on that occasion, but he is determined to rid the bad habit from his game, and he plans to reach out to Slater to help him do so.
“I think I’ll have a chat with Billy and hopefully nut some of that out, but I think for me it’s just getting to the position earlier so that way I can sort of steady my feet and be in a better position,” he added.
“But I’ve got someone that’s the best in the game, or was the best in the game, and hopefully I can learn some things from him for sure.”
