Kalyn Ponga has a shoulder charge problem. NSW will be hoping history repeats

Kalyn Ponga, sent off for a shoulder charge in Origin I, wasn’t suspended. The punishment of effectively losing the game for Queensland was enough. But was it enough of a deterrent?

During Newcastle’s clash with Melbourne on Friday night, Ponga launched another shoulder charge in the last line of defence. He missed, so again he went unsanctioned.

As there have been no punishments or behaviour change, NSW can hope history repeats: the Queensland superstar might, at any minute, go shoulder first and get himself sent off again.

It’s still part of his game; it won’t seem so armless then.

A Mam possessed

In their loss to the Titans, the most fascinating game of the round, the Broncos were again a bunch of desperate individuals all trying to produce the grandstand moments.

Ezra Mam, reprieved from his midweek sacking, played like a man possessed – until, in the last minute, he played like a man possessed by madness, shunning a huge right-side overlap to go for the miracle grubber on the left.

Brisbane seem so bedazzled by their 2025 miracles, they’re just wanting to play the last 20 minutes of the grand final every week. To be fair, however, sometimes the Hail Mary comes off, and on Saturday it was the Titans’ Keano Kini with a chip and chase, Phil Blake-style, producing the winning try.

It is difficult for the Broncos to calm down and play steady percentage football when this happens to them. But it’s also a big red flashing alarm for NSW in Origin II: eventually, the odds will spin Reece Walsh’s way, and those near misses are going to stick.

Hello, rugby league, we’re still here

An impromptu brass band was playing Eagle Rock walking up Pittwater Road, Brookvale Oval had been renamed Foz Pines Park and Kieran Foran’s face replaced Colonel Sanders on the chicken boxes. The Fozball revolution continued on a cold and windy Thursday night as Manly completed a stress-free win over a disappointing South Sydney.

Off the field, Fozball is still in the startled joyous disbelief phase, given that Manly were wooden spoon contenders as recently as April. The enthusiasm on the northern beaches is a viral infection.

One thing, though. Across the NRL, the connection between fans and team gets snapped clean at full-time. Instead of engaging with the so-called lifeblood of the game, players are swamped by staff, media, hangers-on, whatever.

The fans go home. How about the NRL allow five minutes, after full-time, for the players to share some love before they do their media, sponsor and internal stuff? Big wins should finish with a moment of connection, not just a dribbling away.

Dolphins’ centres of excellence

The Dolphins’ glamour backline of 2026 has given something of a retro revival to the position of centre. Once the showcase for Reg Gasnier, Bob Fulton, Steve Rogers and Mal Meninga, centre had become a kind of meat and potatoes/second edge forward position, for stodgy role players, enlivened by the occasional outlier like Joey Manu.

But in Herbie Farnworth and Jack Bostock, the Dolphins have match-winners at No.3 and No.4. Welcome back, the position all the kids used to dream of filling.

The fog of peace

The NRL has used its considerable PR skills in burying the visit of accused murderer Ben Roberts-Smith to the Broncos’ changing rooms last week. Responsibility was sheeted to one Broncos staffer acting without the blessing of the club, let alone the league.

Nothing to see here. ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys dismissed further investigation, saying: “In Australia, a person facing criminal charges is entitled to the presumption of innocence and natural justice.”

Too bad for the league players who, charged with crimes several levels less serious than Roberts-Smith, face a mandatory ban from being anywhere near the game under the no-fault stand-down rule.

What V’landys really doesn’t want is culture war nastiness poisoning the greatest game of all.

“For many fans, rugby league is a release from politics, division and the pressures of everyday life,” he said. “The game should not be drawn into making political or legal judgments when a controversial figure attends a match or enters a dressing room.”

It’s a Brad Fittler-sized sidestep.

Public money is gratefully accepted for stadiums, grants, tax breaks and Pacific diplomacy, politics and politicians are enthusiastically duchessed when it suits, but “politics”? Yeah, nah.

Don’t look to rugby league for consistency or principle; look for smart pragmatism and clever massaging of public opinion. Just don’t call it “politics”.