Queensland Origin selection battle looms with Reece Walsh
Asked if he thought they could both feature in the Queensland squad, as they did in 2024 when Walsh started at fullback and Ponga was used as a cross-impact player, Ponga said: “Hopefully. That would be nice.”
Ponga has made 10 Origin appearances with five wins, while Walsh has been involved in three wins in his five Origins.
Kalyn Ponga is not yet playing senior international football but has represented the Junior Kangaroos.Credit: Getty
While Ponga was happy to reveal his passion for Origin, he was less forthcoming about his intentions regarding the possibility of representing New Zealand at this year’s World Cup.
Current eligibility rules prevent the 27-year-old from representing both the Maroons and the Kiwis, but the ARL Commission is considering changing the criteria to grant exemptions to the likes of Ponga, Victor Radley and Addin Sorua-Blake, who are double-qualified.
“I don’t even think that’s possible, do you?” Asked if he had any thoughts about potentially representing the Kiwis, Ponga said: “There’s no point in commenting on rumours.”
If Ponga is keeping his cards close to his chest, the Knights did their best to help him out by editing this portion of the press conference from the video they posted on their website.
Kiwis will no doubt welcome Ponga, who said in a recent radio interview with New Zealand channel Sport Nation: “All my values, who I am, everything I am, it really comes back to New Zealand. This is my family, this is my culture.”
Newcastle newcomer Dylan Brown said after winning the Pacific Championship with the Kiwis: “It would be great to see him in the black jersey because he’s a huge talent.”
Kiwi hooker Phoenix Crossland, Ponga’s long-time team-mate at Newcastle, added: “It’s up to him and of course it’s up to the rules… I think he’s quite keen.”
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Seven months after undergoing foot surgery, Ponga said he had “ticked the boxes” during his grueling recovery and would “absolutely” be fit for the season opener against North Queensland in Las Vegas, although he was undecided about playing in trial matches or the All Stars.
“When you come back and [started] “As we were running, they noticed there was some bone bruising there,” Knights coach Justin Holbrook said.
“If you keep dwelling on it, it could lead to something worse and breakage. So we took the precautionary approach, put it in the trunk and stood back and let it cool down.”
“Especially it was that time of year. If we’re playing anyway, March-April, we probably don’t have that approach.”
“If he’s a little sore but he’s OK, we’ll move on. But considering the fact that it’s his time of year, I’d rather play it safer now than week to week. That’s why we did it the way we’re doing it now.”
