Early career Ponga played for the
North Queensland Cowboys Holden Cup team from 2015 to 2017, playing 44 games, scoring 32 tries and kicking 42 goals for 212 points in his U20s career.
2015 Ponga moved to Townsville where he attended
Ignatius Park College, played for the Townsville Stingers in the
Mal Meninga Cup. Later on the year Ponga represented Australia in the under 18s touch football at the 2015 Youth Trans Tasman series. In January, he was a member of the
QAS Emerging under-18 Origin squad. In August, he made his
NYC debut for the Cowboys, coming off the bench in his side's 50–6 victory over the
Parramatta Eels in Round 20. It was later revealed that he had missed five months of the season fighting a life-threatening brain infection. He finished the year as the Cowboys' starting fullback, scoring 8 tries in 8 games. In October, he was invited to train with the
New Zealand national team in preparation for their
tour of Great Britain. In November, he joined the Cowboys' 2016 first grade squad for pre-season training.
2016 In January, Ponga was selected in the QAS under-20s Origin squad. In February, he played in the Cowboys' first-grade side's trial game against the Broncos, scoring a try. In May, Ponga was selected for the
Junior Kangaroos and
Junior Kiwis but opted not to play. He spent the majority of the season playing for the Cowboys'
NYC and was named at fullback in the NYC Team of the Year. On 16 September, Ponga made his NRL debut on the wing against the Brisbane Broncos in the
finals, replacing the injured
Antonio Winterstein. Ponga was short from scoring his first NRL try in the 16th minute of the game making a break on the wing getting taken down by Broncos Lock Corey Parker. Since 1987, he is just the sixth player to make his first-grade debut in a finals match. He was contracted to the Cowboys until the end of 2017. In November, it was reported that Ponga had signed a contract with the
Newcastle Knights starting in 2018. On 17 November, when North Queensland returned to pre-season training, head coach
Paul Green confirmed the reports and his disappointment saying the contract was in the cooling off period. The deal was officially announced on 28 November as a four-year contract starting in 2018. It was reported that the deal will make him the highest paid teenager in the history of the NRL.
2017 Ponga was named in the Cowboys' squad for the
2017 NRL Auckland Nines tournament in February. At the event, he led the Cowboys to a quarterfinals berth before being eliminated by the Storm. He scored five tries and was named in the team of the tournament alongside teammate
Gideon Gela-Mosby. Ponga played his first NRL game at fullback for the Cowboys in Round 3. During the game, he recorded two line break assists, seven tackle breaks and 113 running metres in their 8–30 loss to the
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. He scored his maiden NRL try in the Cowboys' Round 4 victory over the
Gold Coast Titans. He was named man of the match in the Cowboys round 8 victory against the Newcastle Knights after scoring two tries. Ponga returned to the North Queensland first-grade lineup in their round 24 clash against the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. During the match, he suffered a shoulder injury. He returned two weeks later in the NYC finals elimination loss to Manly. In September, he was named at fullback in the NYC Team of the Year for the second year in a row, before being announced as one of five finalists for the RLPA Rookie of the Year award.
2018 Ponga was eligible to represent Australia and New Zealand in test football, but confirmed his allegiance to Queensland, and therefore Australia, in January 2018. In round 1 of the
2018 season, he made his debut for the
Newcastle Knights in their 19-18
golden point extra-time win over the
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, scoring a try and kicking three goals. In June, Ponga made his
State of Origin debut for
Queensland in Game II of the
2018 State of Origin series. He came onto the field from the
interchange bench in the 28th minute, playing out of position in the middle of the field. He played 52 minutes, made 29 tackles and made a line break late in the game, coming close to scoring an equalizing try, only to be pulled down by
New South Wales fullback
James Tedesco before the line in Queensland's 18–14 loss. Former Knights and Australian test
Andrew Johns called it 'the best debut in Origin history.'
2019 Ponga was moved to five-eighth to start the 2019 season, however he returned to fullback in round 4. Ponga attracted controversy late in the season with his response to the media after coach Nathan Brown departed the club, saying "I was at lunch having a nice strawberry thickshake, so I wasn't too sad." On 7 October 2019, Ponga was named in the Australian side for the
2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s.
2020 In June, Ponga extended his contract with Newcastle until the end of 2024, however the last two years of the deal were options in Ponga's favour.
2021 In round 6 of the
2021 NRL season, Ponga scored two tries in a man of the match performance as Newcastle defeated
Cronulla-Sutherland 26–22. In round 16 against
North Queensland, Ponga put in a man of the match performance and scored two tries in Newcastle's 38–0 victory. In Game three of the
2021 State of Origin series, Ponga returned to the Queensland Origin side after missing out on the last 6 matches due to injury. He played a part in Queensland's 20–18 win to prevent a New South Wales white wash for the series. defensive line in 2021
2022 Ponga had until June 2022 to activate the options in his contract for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. In April, he signed a new contract for five years, until the end of 2027, that would replace the existing deal moving into 2023. On 13 July, Ponga put in a man-of-the-match performance in Game 3, the decider of the 2022 State of Origin series, in a Queensland side missing regular five-eighth
Cameron Munster. Ponga collected 299 running metres, 90 of which were kick returns and 75 in post-contact, along with 3 line breaks, 18 tackle breaks and the try that claimed the lead which Queensland would not lose for the remainder of the game. In July, Ponga was ruled out for the remainder of the
2022 NRL season after suffering with concussion. On 15 August, it was revealed that Ponga and teammate
Kurt Mann had been ejected from a pub after being found intoxicated in a toilet cubicle by security staff. Ponga and Mann were later drug tested by the NRL under the organisation's drug policy.
2023 In round 2 of the
2023 NRL season, Ponga was taken from the field with a head concussion after just 90 seconds in Newcastle's 14–12 victory over the
Wests Tigers. It was Ponga's fourth concussion in ten months. Ponga subsequently travelled to Canada to undergo advanced neurological testing to determine if he would have to retire, but tests showed no signs of brain damage. After a brief absence, he returned in round 8. Despite a slow start, Ponga regained form as the Knights went on to win 9 straight games heading in to the finals, raising them from 14th to 5th on the ladder. Ponga was the Knights fourth highest try scorer, scoring 9 tries from 20 games. The team would defeat the
Canberra Raiders in the first week of finals but lost to the
New Zealand Warriors the following week, eliminating them from the competition. Ponga won the 2023 Dally M medal, labeling him as player of the year.
2024 In the week following a narrow 24–22 loss to the
Sydney Roosters in round 6, it was reported that Ponga was suffering from a hip injury. Ponga was named in the squad to play the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in round 7 despite carrying a noticeable limp during the warmup. Ponga played through the first half with the limp, however at half time spoke to a trainer regarding a foot injury he had picked up during the half. Ponga played the beginning of the second half before withdrawing, and the side would lose to the Bulldogs 36–12. On 22 April, it was announced that Ponga would be ruled out for an indefinite period as a result of the foot injury. Ponga played 16 games for Newcastle in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished 8th and qualified for the finals. He played in their elimination finals loss against North Queensland.
2025 In May, Ponga was selected by Queensland for game one of the
2025 State of Origin series. In round 14 of the
2025 NRL season, Ponga scored the winning try in golden point extra-time as Newcastle defeated Manly-Warringah 26–22. On 1 July, Ponga was ruled out for an indefinite period after suffering a lisfranc injury in Newcastle's round 17 loss against Canberra. Ponga was limited to only 13 matches with Newcastle in the 2025 NRL season as Newcastle finished with the
Wooden Spoon.
2026 In March 2026, Ponga announced that he would switch allegiance from Australia to New Zealand in international rugby league competitions. In round 2 of the
2026 NRL season Ponga suffered a hamstring injury in Newcastle's win over Manly. He was later ruled out for a minimum of six weeks. On 25 April, the Knights announced that Ponga had re-signed with the club until the end of 2030 with a two year option in the clubs favour. ==Achievements and accolades==