Kalyn Ponga Hasn’t Broken Representative Rules | EXPLAINED

Kalyn Ponga is the subject for Australian Kangaroos controversy.

The Newcastle Knights fullback withdrew himself from national team selection much to the ire of head coach Mal Mengina and the wider rugby league community.

Though, Michael Chammas revealed on Footy Talk League’s Journos Show, that Queensland Maroons star technically has done nothing wrong.

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“It’s in the rule book!” exclaimed Chammas.

“If the players is selected for but withdraws from a representative team or otherwise makes himself unavailable for selection, the player agrees that he will not be available to play for the club in any game in which he would not have been able to play had it been a member of such representative team.”

When simplified, the NRL can’t suspend him from games because of his withdrawal.

If Ponga were to have pulled out of Origin without a legitimate reason, he’d have to miss a club game for the Knights.

But because there’s no club footy for the Novocastrians, he’s got nothing to miss. 

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