Newcastle Knights have strongly defended their decision to play star fullback Kalyn Ponga last week, despite him suffering a subsequent injury that will sideline him for three months. Critics had questioned the club for selecting Ponga, who had been recovering from a hip injury. However, Newcastle’s football boss, Peter Parr, refuted these claims, stating that Ponga trained without pain management and was medically cleared to play. Parr expressed offense at the accusations that the club would field an unfit player and dismissed any connection between Ponga’s foot injury and his previous hip issue.