“It actually shocked me”: Smith reveals his confusion around Ponga’s Kangaroos withdrawal

Newcastle Knights star Kalyn Ponga has left the NRL world in a state of shock after it was announced that he would be unavailable for Australian Kangaroos selection.

After another spectacular finish to the NRL season, Ponga was seen as the new favourite to wear the No.1 jersey for Mal Meninga’s side at the upcoming Pacific Championships but has instead opted to focus on a full preseason with the Newcastle Knights.

The decision sent shockwaves throughout the NRL as Ponga openly declared on SEN 1170 Mower’s Club that he was ready to go if he was to be selected.

Ponga’s announcement has left many confused, including the most-capped Kangaroo of all time, Cameron Smith who vented his disbelief in the decision.

“It actually shocked me when I heard the news that he’s made himself unavailable,” Smith said on SEN 1170 The Captain’s Run.

“But you’ve got to respect his thoughts on the whole situation the reasons why he’s done that and that’s fair enough.

“Just speaking from my experiences, if I was fit and didn’t have an injury that held me out from playing representative football then I made myself available.

“I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to represent, whatever country it is at international level, I just don’t completely understand why he wouldn’t want to do that.

“I read what he’s said and his comments about wanting to be the very best he can be and have a really strong preparation for next season for Newcastle because he feels as though he owes that club a lot for putting a lot of faith in him, I get that.

“But I just think that very rarely do you get an opportunity to play for your country, it doesn’t come around all that often, you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future he may not get another chance.

“I’m not saying because of his decision to stand down but you just don’t know what the future holds… it’s hard for me to get my head around given the view I had of representing Australia or playing international football, I’d jump at the chance.

“Every chance I had to represent Australia I put my hand up to play.”

Smith also revealed his fears for the future of the international game if more of the game’s stars follow in Ponga’s footsteps.

“You’d have to be pretty naïve not to say, if we see more and more of our stars saying, ‘I’m just going to prioritise my club football, well how’s international football going to survive,” Smith added.

Ponga is now reportedly at serious risk of being fined by the NRL and also faces the prospect of missing the early stages of the 2025 regular season.