Queensland coach Billy Slater is confident fullbacks Reece Walsh and Kalyn Ponga can succeed in the same side, because he has played in a similar combination himself.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
In game two of 2018 Slater was Maroons fullback and Ponga, in his State of Origin debut, came off the bench as a roving lock with great success. The Maroons lost that match 18-14, but Ponga was one of the best on the ground.
He will again play off the bench in the Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night and partner No.1 Walsh in what could be a variety of scenarios.
"He's trained in multiple positions on the field, and what a luxury to have Kalyn Ponga sitting on the bench where you can put him on anywhere you want," Slater said.
"He'll find himself on the field at some stage playing his role for the team, but he'll be playing his role as Kalyn Ponga. We want to see the best Kalyn Ponga out there as possible."
While Slater has not watched the 2018 match, the potential of having both players on the field at the same time is mind-boggling.
"They have paved their own way and both of those guys have been involved in the last couple of years," Slater said.
"Kalyn was extremely influential in 2022 and Reece has been over the last couple of years. I said at the start of the year that I was sure that at some stage they would love to be teammates, and now they are teammates."
The Maroons have run through a variety of moves involving Ponga and Walsh at their Sanctuary Cove training base over the past week. It appears that the duo will link together at various stages and provide a one-two punch of speed, skill and power.
NSW captain Jake Trbojevic said the Blues were preparing for several permutations.
"It's definitely going to be something different," Trbojevic said.
"They are both great players in their own right - imagine one of them on one side and one on the other. There are great threats across the field.
"It's definitely going to be a great challenge, but it is exciting for us and I guess when you have them both out there one of them is going to end up in the middle at some point.
"So that might work in our favour, you know what I mean? Like, you can look at it both ways."
Australian Associated Press
