Ponga cries after the final blow to the head
Confused Knights captain Kalyn Ponga feels like he has let his team-mates down after another concussion forced him off the pitch just eight minutes into Newcastle’s 42-12 loss to Sydney Roosters at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night. Ponga wept in the Newcastle dressing room after missing a head injury assessment – his fifth HIA of the season – and suffered his third concussion in the last six weeks after being hit by a high tackle by Roosters supporter Matt Lodge. The Queensland winner tried to get inside Lodge in the eighth minute but Lodge’s left arm hit him in the jaw, then the back of his head hit the ground as he fell. “He’s upset right now. He wants to come back and do well at the club, especially after Origin, but we will go through this week-long process,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien told reporters at a post-match media conference. “He already has a partner [of these] but I’m more worried about how upset he is right now. He was quite emotional and he felt like he let ev