{"id":409163,"date":"2024-07-04T01:31:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T01:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=409163"},"modified":"2024-07-04T03:06:19","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T03:06:19","slug":"superstars-in-frame-for-queensland-selection-shake-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=409163","title":{"rendered":"Superstars in frame for Queensland selection shake up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kalyn Ponga<\/a> \ufeffhas emerged as a surprise contender to don the No.1 jersey for Queensland<\/a> in the State of Origin game three decider as the Newcastle star makes his much-anticipated return from injury.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old has been sidelined since round seven after suffering a Lisfranc injury<\/a> that required surgery, subsequently damaging his hopes of returning to the Origin<\/a> arena.<\/p>\n

Ponga withdrew himself from selection in 2023 as a precaution following a number of concussions.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Former Olympian, world champion found shot dead<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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But in a massive boost for the Knights<\/a>, Ponga was named to start at fullback in the club's clash against the Raiders on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Reece Walsh<\/a> is the incumbent Queensland fullback and was kept quiet in NSW's game two win.<\/p>\n

\"Kalyn<\/p>\n

Queensland great Sam Thaiday<\/a> said Maroons selectors would be watching Ponga's return closely.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffWe've got to see how he gets out there and plays," Thaiday said on Nine's Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffIt's fantastic to see him back on the field. He had a long-term injury with his foot. He's spent a long time out of the game. He's been working very hard to get back, it's a little bit sooner than people thought.<\/p>\n

"He's got to be in the conversation. I'm sure Billy (Slater) has thought about making a phone call to KP but we've just got to let him get through the weekend first."<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 State of Origin series exclusively live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Slater will make at least one change to his starting side after Melbourne winger Xavier Coates was ruled out with a hamstring injury.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Maroons hooker Harry Grant<\/a> remains "in doubt" for selection in game three as he is rested for the second week in a row by Craig Bellamy after an ugly collision with a Queensland teammate.<\/p>\n

However, Phil Gould revealed the star is also suffering from a sternum injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"2024<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Titans star David Fifita<\/a> has also entered the conversation to return in the Maroons jersey after being overlooked for the first two games.<\/p>\n

Jadyn Su'A and Jeremiah Nanai were the starting backrowers in the first two matches.<\/p>\n

Thaiday labelled Fifita as a "game breaker."<\/p>\n

\ufeff"He's been playing really good footy," Thaiday said.<\/p>\n

"I think the best thing about what he's done is previously if someone went against David Fifita, he has been known to kick cans a little bit.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

"I think he's gone about his business. He wasn't considered for State of Origin selection in game one or game two but I think he's been doing a great job for the Gold Coast Titans.<\/p>\n

"He's still a young player and he's trying to find his feet as a great player in our game. You talk about game breakers and he's one of those players that can easily break a game open.<\/p>\n

"I'm very lucky and glad that I'm not a selector or the Queensland State of Origin coach because that job sucks."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kalyn Ponga \ufeffhas emerged as a surprise contender to don the No.1 jersey for Queensland in the State of Origin game three decider as the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":388968,"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\/409163"}],"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=409163"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409167,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409163\/revisions\/409167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/388968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=409163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=409163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=409163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}