Kalyn Ponga awarded Golden Boot before Rugby League World Cup final

42h

Summary

Kalyn Ponga has been awarded the Golden Boot after just 150 minutes of international football for New Zealand.
The Golden Boot goes each year to the best player in Test matches for the year.
Reece Walsh, who led Brisbane to the 2025 premiership, made the Australian fullback spot his own at the World Cup.
Walsh scored a length-of-the-field try against New Zealand, made five try assists against Cook Islands and scored a hat-trick against Samoa.
Ponga could only join New Zealand after Test eligibility laws were changed earlier in the year, and rushed back from a serious injury to play.
The World Cup final is to be played in Brisbane, with Ponga and Walsh as their countries' leading players.

A commentator argued the Golden Boot should not be awarded until after full-time in the World Cup final, saying the early award puts its credibility on the line.
The same commentator said Reece Walsh should have won the Golden Boot, calling his Kangaroos performances a reminder that nobody is better at his best.
The commentator forecast the year's contest between Ponga and Walsh would be settled by their last battle in the final.
The commentator said if Australia wins and Walsh plays well, it will highlight the farce of handing out the award before the biggest international game.
The commentator said Ponga's 150 minutes for New Zealand have been exemplary but it is too early for Golden Boots.

The Rugby League World Cup final should have solved the Golden Boot battleabc.net.au· 42h
An abc.net.au analysis by Nick Campton argues the Golden Boot, given to Kalyn Ponga after just 150 minutes of international football, should not be awarded until after the World Cup final, and that Reece Walsh should have won it. He casts the Brisbane final as the decider of a year swung between the two fullbacks.