Asked if he felt they could both feature in the Queensland line-up as they did in 2024, when Walsh started at full-back and Ponga was used as a switch-hitter, Ponga said: “I hope that would be nice.”
Ponga has 10 Origin appearances to his name in five wins, while Walsh has been involved in three wins in his five Origins.
Kalyn Ponga is yet to play senior international football but has represented the Kangaroos juniors.Credit: Getty
While Ponga was happy to declare his Origin ambitions, 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 allow an exemption for the likes of Ponga, Victor Radley and Addin Fonua-Blake who have dual qualifications.
“I don’t think that’s even possible, is it?” Ponga responded when asked if he had any thoughts on potentially representing the Kiwis. “There is no point in commenting on hearsay.
If Ponga was keeping his cards close to his chest, the Knights did their best to help him by cutting a portion of his press conference from a video they posted on their website.
The Kiwis would no doubt welcome Pong, who said in a recent radio interview with New Zealand’s Sport Nation: “All my values, who I am, everything that I am is really back in New Zealand. It’s my family, it’s my culture.”
Newcastle recruit Dylan Brown said after winning the Pacific Championships with the Kiwis: “It would be amazing to see him in the black jersey because he’s a big talent.”
Kiwi hooker Phoenix Crossland, Pong’s long-time Newcastle team-mate, added: “It’s up to him and of course the rules… I think he’s quite excited.”
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Seven months after undergoing foot surgery, Ponga said he was “ticking the boxes” on his pain and recovery and would “definitely” be fit for the season opener against North Queensland in Las Vegas, although he was unsure if he would play in the trial matches or the All Stars.
“When he came back and [started] As they were running, they noticed they had a little bit of a contusion there,” Knights coach Justin Holbrook explained.
“If you keep doing it, it can lead to something worse and a fracture. So we took a preventative approach, put it in the shoes and said back off and let it settle.”
“First of all, it was the time of year. When we’re already playing, it’s March-April, so we probably don’t have that attitude.”
“If it hurts a little bit, but it’s OK, we move on. But with it being his season, I’d rather play it safe now than when we’re playing every week. That’s why we did it the way we did.”
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