And now Kalyn Ponga - for so long a reluctant sharpshooter - feels comfortable enough to confirm that he wants to retain the role for the rest of his career.

"If I keep kicking well, obviously I do want it," Ponga said on Monday. "I do want to have those moments."

Ponga was initially entrusted with the kicking duties when he debuted for the Knights in 2018, but over the past seven seasons he has regularly passed the responsibility on to the likes of Ken Sio, Jake Clifford, Jackson Hastings and Lachlan Miller.

Newcastle's round-18 clash with Canterbury last season was a turning point.

Ponga had not kicked a goal all year, but he landed 11 from as many attempts in a club-record 66-0 slaughter of the Bulldogs and has retained the job ever since.

"When I first started, I was pretty good, but then I got injured and a bit of confidence probably fell away," Ponga said.

"But just being consistent now with how I practise, my process, that sort of takes away all the external factors, I guess.

"That's the way I train.

"That's the way I've been training in terms of my kicking as well, and I guess that's why I'm getting some results at the moment. But I'm just staying consistent with it and enjoying it."

Ponga has nailed 16 goals without a miss this season. Add the goal he booted in last season's semi-final loss to the Warriors, and that makes it 17 in a row.

That takes his career record in the NRL to 205 goals from 272 attempts, at a strike rate of 75.37 per cent. But since the Bulldogs game last year, he has improved that percentage to 81.5.

The 26-year-old clearly believes he is benefiting from Newcastle's decision to hire former superboot Darryl Halligan as a kicking coach, replacing ex-Wallaby Berrick Barnes.

Halligan, who was once the NRL's all-time leading scorer with a career tally of 2034 points, is regarded as the best technician in the business.

"He probably doesn't give too much all at once," Ponga said of Halligan's tuition.

"Obviously kicking, if you bombard someone with too much information, it can make it quite hard. He's been with us now for a few months and is just slowly chipping away, slowly helping me with certain things and keeping it consistent."

A keen golfer who plays off single figures, Ponga said there were "definitely" synergies with goalkicking.

"I reckon they go hand in hand, in terms of the mindset, consistency, all those sort of things," he said.

Knights coach Adam O'Brien said Ponga's progress was a reminder that practice makes perfect.

"He doesn't have a day off any more," he said. "He's in every day ... he's put the work in."