RUGBY league legend Paul Gallen believes Kalyn Ponga can lead the Newcastle Knights to a premiership but has warned that it will take time to build a squad capable of doing so.
Gallen, who in the past has been one of the Knights' most strident critics, was in Newcastle on Wednesday to promote his Australasian heavyweight title fight against Kris Terzievski on May 11 at the EntCent.
On the same day, the Knights announced they had extended skipper Ponga's contract for a further five seasons, on a deal reportedly worth more than $1 million a year.
Gallen has at various times been dismissive of the Knights, describing their 2016 wooden spooners as the "worst first-grade team I ever faced in my entire career" in his autobiography, and warning Mitchell Pearce when he left Sydney Roosters late in 2017 that he "might live to regret" joining Newcastle instead of Cronulla.
But the former warhorse forward, who led Cronulla to their first-ever premiership in 2016, said he had since revised his opinion of the Knights.
"That was five or six years ago," he told the Newcastle Herald. "I don't think they can win the comp this year.
"I don't think I'm going out on a limb in saying that.
"But they're putting a squad together.
"You need someone like him who has X-factor, he has marketability, great work ethic and he's a great player.
"He's got toughness, he's got skill and he's got X-factor, as I said. You need a bloke like him in your team.
"But you also need guys like the Saifiti boys, and Tyson Frizell, Bradman Best - what a star he is - and Dane Gagai. So I think they've got the making there.
"They're building the makings, without a doubt.
"But premierships don't happen overnight.
"You've got to build for a couple of years.
"To win a competition you need a player like Kalyn Ponga, without a doubt.
"The first thing for Newcastle is to keep Kalyn Ponga. Keep Kalyn and build around him."
Gallen said Cronulla's breakthrough premiership, sealed with an epic 14-12 grand final triumph against Melbourne Storm, had been a gradual process.
"I think if you look at when we put together our [premiership-winning] roster, it started from about 2012 or 2013," he said.
"It was many years in the making. The year we won the comp, I knew we were going to be very, very good for two or three years. In 2015, we were knocked out by the eventual premiers, the Cowboys, then in '16 we won it.
"But 2017 was the year I'd earmarked as the year we could win the comp. We had young guys like Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes and I wasn't sure if in 2016 they'd be up to it. But they rose to the occasion."
The Knights have finished seventh in both of their first two seasons under the coaching of Adam O'Brien, but find themselves fighting to stay in touch with the top eight this year after losing four consecutive games.
A win against Parramatta at McDonald Jones Stadium could be a turning point in their campaign.
"They're putting together a roster, without doubt," Gallen said. "The Knights have the markings with some good senior players there and some young guys who are just getting started.
"They'll improve over the next 12 to 18 months, and maybe with a few additions to the team, they can push to win a competition."
