Ponga's mixed bag shows halves move a game of patience

“Ponga, Ponga”.

It might've only been a trial but Parramatta made their intentions known from the kick-off that life at five-eighth for Kalyn Ponga won't be made so easy in 2023 after the Knights star's first match of the season. 

Eels players were heard yelling Ponga's name every time they shifted right and ran the ball with purpose towards the Knights captain as he begins life transitioning into the halves. 

Ponga's first outing in the No.6 jersey since Round 3, 2019, showed glimpses of why the move could work long-term, while also highlighting how much patience will be required for one of the game's most talked about stars. 

He has clearly bulked up in the off-season to accommodate his move and like the team will be better for the minutes he got before the side's season opener against the Warriors. 

In a stint that lasted 40 minutes, the 24-year-old took a little while to get into the game before a head high shot from opposite half Mitchell Moses helped put any nerves of last year's disruptive season of head knocks behind him. 

Defensively he appeared to struggle with the lack of cohesion and combinations alongside him, missing three tackles, two of which led to tries. 

His attempt on Moses for Parramatta's fourth of the afternoon left Ponga himself clapping his hands before turning to Lachlan Fitzgibbon and noting where they both went wrong. 

In attack he was sound in limited opportunities and with less time to move. He put Bradman Best into a hole from dummy half for Newcastle's second but it was Jackson Hastings and the right edge who offered more in attack. 

The positive to the experiment was the effort of Lachlan Miller, who looked at home at fullback in a 60-minute stint with 19 carries for 167 metres. 

"He's really good and easy to talk to, in and around the club, and we're really keen to make this work," Miller said post-match. 

"I thought there were definitely some good things out there and we've got a few things to work on as well. 

"There's five or six of us who haven't played together. I've only had about two weeks to work on that but I felt good out there. Some timings were off but you've got to expect that in the first game.

"I think the combinations are getting there and we've got two weeks to work on them before Round 1."