Scans have confirmed Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown will miss a significant portion of the football season after injuries on the weekend with Manly Sea Eagles fans becoming frustrated with their side after being embarrassed at home. Manly were coming off a home loss to the Raiders last week and were looking to get their first win of the season against the Knights who are already looking like a different team than the one that got the wooden spoon in 2025.

Ponga tore Manly apart in the first-half, before the fullback appearing to injure his hamstring as he ran away for a try. The fullback tried to play on to see out the half, but eventually came from the field and walked straight down the tunnel in a worrying moment for Knights fans.

A club statement confirmed the fullback suffered a tear of the muscle. ‘NRL Physio’ Brien Seeney claimed Ponga is set to miss around six to eight weeks of action.

Manly Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold (pictured right) has come under pressure after his side suffered their second loss of the season, while the Newcastle Knights lost both Kalyn Ponga (pictured left) and Dylan Brown were injured in the game. (Images: Getty Images)

Brown also went down clutching at his knee from a tackle a few minutes after Ponga. Brown didn’t come back out for the second-half with Sandon Smith left to take over the general duties with the Knights 30-10 up.

Brown suffered a MCL injury and will miss around four weeks of action. Despite missing their two star players worth an estimated $3 million, the Knights built on their lead having won 36-16 with Smith controlling the away side with aplomb in the final 40 minutes.

While this is a significant blow for the Knights who have started their season 2-0, they are set to welcome back Fletcher Sharpe. The five-eighth looked electric in his first appearance against the Cowboys in round one, before injuring his knee.

The Knights initially hinted Sharpe should be back for round three, which could see Sharpe return just in time with Ponga and Brown out. Sharpe could slide in right alongside Smith in the halves when they host the Warriors next week to keep the former Roosters star controlling the side.

Kalyn Ponga (pictured right) injured his hamstring in the win over the Sea Eagles.

(Matt King via Getty Images)

Anthony Seibold under pressure at Manly

While there was mixed news for Knights fans, it wasn’t so good for the home team. Fans starting to become increasingly frustrated with coach Seibold who appears to be under immense pressure to keep his job. Manly failed to make the top eight last year with a poor end to the season seeing them miss out on NRL finals footy. And they have now started their 2026 season with two defeats with the thrashing at home to the Knights prompting some backlash.

The Sea Eagles выглядели потерянными на протяжении второго периода, даже несмотря на то, что они атаковали команду Knights, которая заменила двух своих игроков в игре. Команда Knights продолжала доминировать над командой Manly, в то время как Luke Brooks и Jamal Fogarty не смогли направить команду по полю.

Главный тренер Sea Eagles, Anthony Seibold (на фото посередине), оказался под давлением после поражения дома во втором раунде.

(Matt King via Getty Images)

Тренер Seibold подвергся наибольшей критике, поскольку фанаты не соглашаются с некоторыми его решениями после нескольких лет руководства командой Manly. Многие были расстроены тем, что молодой игрок Joey Walsh не был в составе, чтобы оказывать давление на полузащитников.

Seibold решил оставить Walsh вне состава 19 против Knights, чтобы он получил больше времени в NSW Cup. Однако растет требование о смене, и Seibold может нуждаться в чем-то радикальном, чтобы изменить ситуацию. Seibold сказал, что сейчас не время паниковать, и тренер уверен, что команда сможет восстановиться после своего перерыва.