Is Kalyn Ponga a fullback or a five-eighth?

That is the question on everyone’s lips after coach Nathan Brown’s decision to move his star fullback to the No.6 jersey next season.

Connor Watson all but confirmed he will get first crack at fullback, which means Ponga will train at five-eighth in preparation for season 2019.

“The plan is I’ll try at No.1 and he’ll go at No.6, just see how it works out,” Watson said.

Round 20

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Ponga has the potential to follow in the footsteps of rugby league legend Darren Lockyer, who made a successful transition to No.6.

However, Lockyer played nearly half his career at fullback, while Ponga has only 29 NRL games of experience and one game for Queensland, before making the switch.

The 2018 Dally M Medal runner-up already has the potential to go down as one of the game’s greats, but it remains to be seen if he is ready for the rigours of week-to-week football in the front line.

The physical demands of playing at No.6 in terms of defence far outweigh those of a fullback and Ponga will be targeted to negate his brilliant attacking game.

Foxsports.com.au asked a panel of Fox League experts to find out their take on Ponga’s positional switch.

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BILLY MOORE

Queensland legend Billy Moore has no doubt that Ponga will make a successful transition to five-eighth and thinks he can do the same for the Maroons.

“My philosophy was after the Origin series and talking about potential changes for the Queensland side and I thought that Ponga would be better suited to the No.6 and Munster to No.1,” Moore told foxsports.com.au.

“He is one of those guys you want to have on the ball more rather than wait till you get it one or two plays wider.

“I think along the same lines when we are talking about the Queensland side and to me Munster is more of a natural No.1 than he is a No.6.

“I think reversing those two roles will be successful for the Queensland side.

“Obviously there is a fair bit of water to go under the bridge until next season, but given his form line and what we saw in the second half of 2018.”

Billy Moore wants Kalyn Ponga at No.6 and Cameron Munster at No.1 for the Maroons in 2019. Source: AAP

One of the challenges that Ponga faces is the increased defensive load in the front line, however, Moore believes he has shown he can handle it.

“I think if we think about his Origin II performance the best person to ask about his defensive capabilities might be Tom Trbojevic and defensively he was unbelievable,” Moore said.

“I had a chat to Trevor Gillmeister about it during Origin knowing that he was probably going to go on in the back row.

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“They weren’t sure if his defence was going to be up to it and Gilly gave him some extra tuition and he was amazed at how quickly he took to it and his confidence just grew enormously.”

There is an increased risk of injury from defending in the front line, but Moore thinks Ponga will benefit from an improved Knights’ pack in 2019.

Kalyn Ponga handled the front line defensive workload in his Origin debut. Source: News Corp Australia

However there is the possibility that the Knights could be strengthening one position by weakening another.

Moore concedes the positional switch is a risk, given what Ponga can offer the team from fullback, but he thinks the positives far outweigh the negatives.

“That is the $64,000 question for both club and state level,” Moore said.

“I’m a very strong advocate not to do that where possible, but I think the upside for him at No.6 is just too strong a temptation to resist.

“How they fill the void at No.1 is going to be interesting at the Knights, but Pearce and Ponga together in the halves that to me, I’ll go out on a limb and say that could be the best halves combination in the competition.

“Ponga finished second in the Dally M Medal and Pearce only played half a season and was right up there before he got injured so you basically have two Dally M players.

“They are both really competitive players and I can see Newcastle being anything but top eight next year and it will be driven from the halves and they will be a wonderful halves combination.”

— Mark St John

JUSTIN HODGES

Like Moore, Justin Hodges is most concerned about the defensive workload of playing in the front line.

“I think it could be a little too early for him. I would’ve liked to have seen him stay at fullback still,” Hodges told foxsports.com.au.

“He’s still young, he’s still learning the game, still developing.

“I just think if you take him out of that front line it just helps him a little bit too. When he’s in the front line he’s a target for the other attacking sides. We all know he can handle it but you don’t want him doing that week in week out at a young age, you want to protect him a little bit.”

He said Nathan Brown is in a better position to make that decision, but he would’ve liked to have seen him remain in the No.1 for a little longer.

“Fullback’s a great position where you can pick your moments to come in and challenge the defensive line,” Hodges said.

“But Browny’s seen the way he’s been training this pre-season and we’ve seen what he can do with the ball and his ability to beat defenders. But for me, I would’ve probably kept him at the back a little longer.”

As for the Maroons, the new Queensland assistant coach says it’s good for the incumbent halves Daly Cherry-Evans and Cameron Munster to have the prodigious youngster nipping at their heels.

“You’d like to think Cameron Munster and Daly would probably be the halves next year depending on what Kevvie wants to go with but I think it’s good competition,” he continued.

“We all know what Kalyn Ponga can do, he had a breakout season and was one of the best players in the competition so having him in our side you can put him anywhere.

“You saw last year Kevvie stuck him in the middle and he produced a massive debut, so I think it’s only a good thing to put pressure on those guys who already have their foot in the door. And you can never relax when you’ve got a guy like Ponga coming into the side.”

— Joe McDonough

DANNY BUDERUS

Newcastle legend Danny Buderus had absolutely no reservations about Ponga’s impending switch and said the Knights will only be more dangerous.

“Anytime Kalyn’s got the ball in his hands it’s a good thing for the Newcastle Knights,” Buderus told foxsports.com.au.

“At five-eighth you’ve got to organise a bit more, but with the way the Knights play, everyone’s got an understanding of sort of lines they’ve got to run. The back-rowers are starting to understand how to play with Kalyn and Lachlan Fitzgibbon is the best at that because he gives him time.

“Anytime he’s got the ball in his hands it’s going to put teams on notice.”

While some might believe that the Knights are weakening one position to make another better, Buderus reckoned that wasn’t the case.

“Connor Watson’s best position seems to be fullback because he can just run the football,” Buderus said.

“Fullbacks have that pass, but I don’t think that will be the way the Knights will play with Connor. They’ve got enough attack out of their six and seven in Kalyn and Mitchell (Pearce) to steer the team around.

“Connor will play those inside balls and pop up at different stages in all the sets and support — he’s most probably the fittest man at the club.”

Buderus believed Ponga would handle the weekly defensive load and said his efforts in Origin this year were a great snapshot of what he can do without the ball.

“He knows how the defend with people,” he said.

“We always talk about his attack, but one thing that stood out to me was how he defended in the middle during Origin.

“That’s going to be no problem. Since he’s got to Newcastle he’s put some really good weight on, he looks so much stronger and developed.

“He’ll be robust enough to defend on an edge.”

— John Dean