KALYN Ponga appears in genuine danger of becoming one of rugby league's greatest unfulfilled talents.
Without wanting to sound like a drama queen or be accused of spreading hysteria, Ponga's concussion in the opening two minutes of Sunday's 14-12 win against Wests Tigers was a harrowing reminder that Newcastle's captain might never get a chance to realise his potential.
I'd suggest that anyone who wants to argue otherwise is in denial.
Ponga has now been ordered from the field for head-injury assessments seven times in his past 18 games, since he copped a knock playing against Manly in April last year.
I've counted another five HIAs in his previous four seasons with the Knights, and there may have been others.
As former Knights and NSW Origin winger James McManus - forced into premature retirement in 2015 after repeated head trauma - explained in an interview with the Sun-Herald last year, some people are more prone to concussions.
"If I was to be looking at five [incidents] in a year, you'd be thinking about susceptibility. I know that was an issue for me," McManus said.
On the vast majority of the aforementioned occasions, Ponga either returned to to play out the game, or was back on the field the following week.
It was only after the ninth instance, when NRL protocols mandated that he had to take a week off following a collision with Nathan Cleary in Origin II last year, that a time-out was considered necessary.
And on that occasion the Knights complained bitterly that he wasn't allowed to line up against the Gold Coast Titans, who at the time were running last and who Newcastle duly thrashed 38-12, minus their main man.
Three weeks later, Ponga collected a swinging arm from Sydney Roosters prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves on the chin and his season was over, six weeks ahead of schedule. There was no other feasible option.
Now, two games into Newcastle's 2023 campaign, Ponga has twice been forced from the field for HIAs.
Against the Warriors in round one, the 24-year-old protested and insisted he was "literally fine", and Knights coach Adam O'Brien accused the authorities of "jumping at shadows".
Now, a week later, Ponga appears to be back facing the same dilemma he was after the Waerea-Hargreaves high shot - facing an indefinite stint on the sidelines, and wondering if history will repeat itself next time he plays.
It is worth remembering, of course, that former Newcastle back-rower Sione Mata'utia endured a similar ordeal, back in 2016. At the time, there were fears he would be forced into an early retirement, but seven years later, he is still going strong with St Helens in the English Super League and hoping to return to the NRL next season.
The trouble is that, no matter how well qualified the neurologists are - and the Knights refer their players to some world-renowned experts - there are grey areas in all this.
"If he's cleared, he's cleared," O'Brien said at Sunday's press conference.
That might be so, but treating a brain injury is presumably far more complex than reconstructing a knee, or reinforcing a broken arm with titanium plates.
And rugby league is an inherently dangerous, brutal sport, in which the athletes are required to put their heads in danger every time they run the ball, or make a tackle.
Adding to Ponga's worries, rival teams are not inclined to show sympathy.
While ever he is defending at five-eighth, he can expect opposition back-rowers to target him.
On Sunday it was Asu Kepaoa. Next time it could be David Fifita or Viliame Kikau.
At some point, inevitably, Ponga will find himself standing between those type of wrecking balls and the tryline, and rugby league fans will all be watching anxiously, hoping that the worst-case scenario doesn't become a reality.
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