Tedesco and Ponga bring contrasting journeys to NRL final
James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga will captain the Roosters and Newcastle Knights respectively in Sunday’s NRL grand final. The two fullbacks share elite status but reached the match through markedly different careers: Ponga was an early phenomenon, while Tedesco overcame a serious debut injury and repeated doubts about his prospects.
James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga will lead the Roosters and Newcastle Knights into Sunday’s NRL grand final, but the captains have followed sharply different routes to the championship decider. The two players share the fullback position, leadership responsibilities and a place among the competition’s leading figures. Their development and experience, however, have been markedly different, according to ABC News Australia.
Ponga attracted national attention as a teenager. His early highlights circulated widely, and his first NRL appearance came in a sudden-death semi-final. His first touch produced a line break, immediately reinforcing expectations that he would become a major star.
After joining Newcastle in 2018, Ponga finished runner-up in the Dally M voting in his first full season. His talent was widely accepted from the outset, even though the team’s progress was slower. He did not play in a final until 2020 and did not win one until 2023.
The 29-year-old has described the Knights’ current run as the product of years of difficult seasons, injuries and disappointment. Newcastle have won more finals in the past three weeks than during the rest of Ponga’s time at the club combined. He said reaching the grand final had fulfilled a dream he had held for nine years.
Tedesco, 33, had to establish himself more gradually. The Camden product was considered a promising junior but was not guaranteed a first-grade career. He made his NRL debut for Wests Tigers in 2012, but injured his knee half an hour into the match and was taken from the field in tears.
A series of injuries delayed his progress before he became a regular first grader three seasons later. Tedesco said doubts from others had helped motivate him, but described his own desire to improve as the stronger force. He won last year’s Dally M medal, returned to State of Origin this season and remains among the competition’s top players.
Sunday’s final will place his experience against Ponga’s emotional rise with Newcastle.
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