{"id":284874,"date":"2023-04-11T05:07:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T05:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=284874"},"modified":"2023-04-11T12:59:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T12:59:32","slug":"biggest-question-for-slater-amid-ponga-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=284874","title":{"rendered":"'Biggest question' for Slater amid Ponga puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q\ufeffueensland coach Billy Slater<\/a> will have no issue picking Kalyn Ponga<\/a> for the State of Origin<\/a> opener on May 31.<\/p>\n

But he says the "biggest question" Newcastle<\/a> has to answer is where the dynamic superstar will line up when he makes his return from a lengthy concussion layoff.<\/p>\n

\ufeffPonga has not been seen in action since he was knocked out against the Tigers in round two<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> The 'toxic' problem the NRL must address<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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It was his fourth concussion in the space of 10 months, and the Knights have since flown him to Canada to consult \ufeffspecialists with access to machines<\/a> not available in Australia.<\/p>\n

But now a return date is set, with the 25-year-old to be named by the Knights for their round eight clash with North Queensland next week.<\/p>\n

"The biggest question mark is where does Kalyn play? Does he play back in the halves?," Slater asked Wide World of Sports' The Billy Slater Podcast<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Kalyn<\/p>\n

(Newcastle coach) Adam O'Brien has been very vocal about the fact (Ponga) is not going anywhere, he is playing in the six jersey this year.<\/p>\n

"I'd anticipate he will play in the halves, but that's probably the biggest question the Knights have to answer.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

Ponga has played most of NRL career at fullback to date, but was handed the five-eighth spot \ufeffby O'Brien this year.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/the-billy-slater-podcast\/the-ball-is-in-kalyns-court\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n

That switch has come under the spotlight, though, following his round two concussion, and a head injury assessment in round one, which he passed.<\/p>\n

The suggestion is players are more vulnerable to head knocks when defending in the line, rather than at fullback.<\/p>\n

But Slater doesn't necessarily \ufeffconform to that theory.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

"There is nowhere to hide, it doesn't matter where you play, you're at risk," he said.<\/p>\n

"It is a physical, collision, contact sport. It doesn't matter whether you're in the front line.<\/p>\n

"Look what happened to (Raiders fullback) Jordan Rapana over the weekend<\/a>, fullback is not a safe place to play either.<\/p>\n

"You've just got to go out there and play. Kalyn has unfortunately been caught in awkward situations the last couple of years.<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

"Knowing Kalyn, when he takes the field he will be all in.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

Ponga\ufeff was Queensland's fullback last year when the Maroons won the series against New South Wales, and he played a big role.<\/p>\n

But whether he is fit or not for selection this time around, he faces stiff competition from Brisbane whizkid Reece Walsh, who has been a \ufeffstandout in the Broncos' hot start to the season.<\/p>\n

\"Slater:<\/p>\n

And while Ponga is wearing the No.6 jumper at club level, that spot in the Queensland side has a mortgage on it from Cameron Munster.<\/p>\n

The Maroons' habit of playing two hookers with Ben Hunt and Harry Grant also means Slater is unlikely to need another bench utility, leaving fullback the only realistic option to pick Ponga.<\/p>\n

The coach, though, is rapt Ponga will be back in action in time to be considered for selection.<\/p>\n

"From a Queensland point of view, that gives him five weeks before the first team is picked. They've got a bye in there, so he will get four games," Slater said.<\/p>\n

"That is plenty of footy… With what Kalyn did in the series last year.<\/p>\n

"The ball is in Kalyn's court. To be honest he shouldn't even be thinking about (Origin), he just needs to get back and play footy.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q\ufeffueensland coach Billy Slater will have no issue picking Kalyn Ponga for the State of Origin opener on May 31. But he says the "biggest […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=284874"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284876,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284874\/revisions\/284876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=284874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=284874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=284874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}