Kalyn Ponga's introduction to five-eighth was a bumpy road during the Maori All Stars' heavy defeat to their Indigenous rivals, giving Knights coach Nathan Brown some food for thought in the remaining weeks of the pre-season.
Doubters of the positional switch were out in numbers as the superstar-in-making crumbled under the pressure of the front-line.
Ponga was rushed and appeared panicky in just his second game in the No.6 jumper, producing a handful of uncharacteristic errors.
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The list included an intercept pass to Blake Ferguson, poor kick options and a crucial missed tackle on James Roberts.
He was the Maori's go-to last-tackle weapon, handed the ball with the expectation of pulling a rabbit out of the hat on his lonesome which proved difficult without options around him.
Channel Nine commentators Phil Gould and Andrew Johns gushed like fan boys over Ponga's stardom, but there was little to celebrate.
Have patience though.
The exhibition game is a learning curve for one of the brightest young minds in the game and rust can be expected after a six-month lay-off in his first cameo back from an ankle injury.
In June, the populus were labelling his Origin debut as the greatest in history. That wasn't at five-eighth, but Ponga was situated in the brink of the action in the front-line.
After that, he showed the initiative to approach Brown and put his hand up to play five-eighth.
Ponga has both confidence from Origin and valuable lessons from Friday night's hiccup to take home.
The experiment will take time.
A notion some fans can't understand, already calling for him to return home to fullback.
If tonight is anything to go by, switching Ponga to 6 will absolutely ruin him, nowhere near the same impact as at 1 chiming in the line further wide creating space from deeper. also found wanting a bit in sliding D. #NRLAllStars
— Greg (@chivers1989) February 15, 2019
I could easily be wrong but I still can’t help but feel that Kalyn Ponga is a fullback.
— FISOVII (@MotownFizzy) February 15, 2019
Ponga is a natural footballer that should be able to play instinctively & not having to worry about creating for others.#NRLAllStars
Noticeable problem with playing Ponga at 6. It seems like he over plays his hand & the team look for him to often. @NRLKnights take not, prob best to leave him at FB & let him choose the moments.. #NRLAllStars #NRL
— Freddie Faraj (@MrWild01) February 15, 2019
Nup ...fullback is Ponga. That is all. #NRLAllStars
— Michael Minty (@MichaelMinty63) February 15, 2019
Just an exhibition, but Ponga at 5/8 has been unimpressive #NRLAllStars
— Jack McDonald (@JackJackmc1) February 15, 2019
