Newcastle skipper and star player Kalyn Ponga is still said to be toying with a shift north to join Wayne Bennett and the Dolphins next season, with reports arising that the pair met in the Harbour City on Saturday.
Despite featuring for the Knights in their 18-0 loss to Cronulla on Friday night and making the return journey back up the M1 on the team bus, the Queensland Origin rep was back in Sydney to meet Bennett less than 24-hours later.
According to reports from Phil Rothfield of The Daily Telegraph, the duo who share a 48 year age difference dined at an undisclosed location and were joined by Dolphins CEO, Terry Reader.
Speaking after the meeting, Reader offered News Corp the straightest of bats.
“We’re constantly talking to players about building our squad,” the administrator said.
“There’s a lot of moving pieces. We’re in negotiations every day with players and agents.
“We just don’t comment on these talks. We want the best players like the other 16 clubs. We’re doing everything we can to assemble the best roster we can.”
Despite being hampered with a knee complaint that saw him miss Newcastle's Round 2 clash with Wests, Ponga is said to have a $1.2 million per season contract extension on the table at McDonald Jones Stadium.
At the present, the 24-year-old remains tied to the blue and red side through to the end of 2024 due to his player option, however, the links between him and the Dolphins refuse to die out.
With Bennett and his chief recruiter, Peter O'Sullivan, yet to haul a 'big fish' into Moreton Bay, there remains an outward perception that the expansion franchise may soon become desperate to ink a marquee name.
Yet, in spite of his effervescent skillset, Fox League pundit Michael Ennis held the view that the supposed $1.3 million dollar deal dangled before Ponga had been cast in the wrong direction.
“$1.3 million for Kalyn Ponga if you watched him play yesterday out at Shark Park he was anything but a $1.3 million player,” Ennis stated on Saturday.
“And I don’t mean that to be harsh, he is a wonderful player. I would love to see Kalyn stay at Newcastle, I really would and I think the best investment for the Dolphins moving forward, and it is just my opinion, is I think they go all in for Cameron Munster.
“And then they try and get Reece Walsh, I really do."
And with the Warriors' wunderkind linked with a shift away from Nathan Brown's side due to his own contractual clause, footy fans will be hoping that the Dolphins' documentary cameras will stay rolling over the next few months.
