Newcastle legend Matthew Johns fears Kalyn Ponga’s move from full-back to five-eighth could prove too much too soon for the prodigious Knights superstar.
Ponga polled second in the 2018 Dally M count after making all-but-one of his 20 appearances for the season at full-back.
The 20-year-old lined up at five-eighth in the Knights’ 20-12 win over Penrith in Round 23 but failed to have his normal impact on the contest.
He will make a permanent switch to the front line in 2019 and Johns, a highly-regarded halves whisperer, predicted opposition teams will turn the explosive youngster into a human tackling machine in 2019.
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“I’m not the coach (but) I probably would have left him at one, I’d have left him there,” Johns, who played 176 games in the Knights No.6 jumper, told Fox Sports' NRL 360.
“The six and one play such a similar role these days … and I expect (Mitchell) Pearce to sort of play the full field.
“But the thing with Kalyn, I just would have kept him out of harm’s way as far as defence is concerned.
“Now I know he played that Origin game (at lock) and he made 30-odd tackles and he shone … but doing that every single week (is a different proposition).
“And I think opposition teams coming out of trouble when they receive the ball will channel at Kalyn and try to get his tackle-count up.
“I think for another couple of years I would have kept him at one, and it’ll be interesting to see if Brownie (coach Nathan Brown) is tempted to do that some weeks.”
Johns, who has worked as a mentor to several halves from multiple NRL clubs outside of his booming media career, added playmaking is ‘an old-school art’ that will take time for Ponga to master.
He admits Ponga’s talent cannot be questioned but predicted, Pearce, who was named sole-captain on Wednesday, will control the Knights’ structure on both sides of the field to alleviate pressure on his new halves partner.
