Nothing about Kalyn Ponga's rugby league journey feels simple right now. This is a kid who clearly looks capable of playing fullback for North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL on a weekly basis - not quite as well as Lachlan Coote though - and he's shown enough in brief stints in the NRL to demand a hefty deal to move down to Newcastle. 

Despite that, when the Cowboys have Coote at fullback, Kyle Feldt on the right wing and Gideon Gela-Mosby on the left, it's Ponga who has to play in the Under 20s competition. That such a freakish talent is running around with kids is then dwarfed by the uncertainty surrounding Ponga's representative future as Ponga is yet to pledge allegiance to Aotearoa or Australia.

Before the season began, I wondered where Ponga would fit in to the Cowboys backline when they have all their troops on board. Ponga's leaving the Cowboys which means that there is greater upside in giving Mosby consistent minutes on the left wing in place of Antonio Winterstein and from what we've seen, Mosby is worthy of every NRL minute. The Cowboys would be silly to banish Ponga to the lower grades though and with Coote absent, Ponga stepped in, showing the Cowboys' intent of simply winning games. 

That situation has effectively been solved; Ponga is currently the best outside-back-depth-player in the NRL.

We're still waiting for word on Ponga's representative decision though and as we move closer to the announcement of the Junior Kangaroos and Junior Kiwis, we move closer to a possible decision. Last year, Ponga opted to bypass this fixture so he could put off making the decision and I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case once again. The chances of Ponga eventually pulling on the green and gold, or black and white jersey are pretty damn high, but you can never assume that you'll earn honours like that so for Ponga to pass up on his last certain opportunity to do a haka for Aotearoa or represent the country that has given he and his whanau so much (Australia), would be a bit weird.

Hence I reckon we'll be graced with a decision in the next few months. 

Ponga is a gun who will make either Australia or Aotearoa better, when he earns an international debut. Obviously I don't really care about how or where Ponga fits into Australia or Queensland's system; #KiwiNRL lifestyle means I've thought long and hard about Ponga's possible future with the Kiwis.

And I've come to a point where I'm not overly fussed. I have to repeat that Ponga is a gun and I'd want him in the Kiwis every day of the week, but it's not as though the Kiwis are short of key players, especially given that Ponga won't come into contention for at least another year or two. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is the Kiwis fullback and will be for many years to come, while the likes of Jordan Kahu, Jordan Rapana, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Peta Hiku, Dean Whare, David Fusitua, Solomone Kata, Joseph Manu and maybe even Suliasi Vunivalu all have their best representative years ahead of them. 

I'm not here to debate who is better than who - Ponga's could be better than all of them - it's just an example of the sheer quality we can look forward to.

Ponga could be a half if he's playing alongside a halfback who is calling the shots.  Johnson and Kieran Foran are still our best halves pairing, yet nowadays we've got some depth with Te Maire Martin doing a fine job in the NRL and at a stretch could put younger lads like Ata Hingano in that depth bracket. Point being that just with Johnson, Foran and Martin, the Kiwis are as well-equipped in the halves as they've ever been.

We've already got depth, so just imagine how this landscape could look in a few years time as the plethora of young kiwi lads playing in SG Ball or Under 20s start to work their way into the NRL. Aotearoa has been raided (in the best way possible) by NRL clubs and there's guys like Mawene Hiroti at the Rabbitohs who the casual fan hasn't heard of, but have already made major waves in the lower grades after moving to Australia from Aotearoa. 

We entering a time where the Kiwis' depth will only increase, it's already at a beautiful point in a World Cup year and we can only imagine how the Kiwis could look after the World Cup. Ponga's could legit make a LeBron James 'The Decision' type of kerfuffle regarding his international future and we'll all tune in, however the Kiwis are well stocked to absorb a future without Ponga.

A future with Ponga? Well you've only got to imagine what a Ponga/Tuivasa-Sheck combo could look like.

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