The more things change, the more things stay the same. Rewind to last year and the conversation was dominated in Queensland around who would don the No.1 jersey – the incumbent Kalyn Ponga or the rising star Reece Walsh.
Ponga had endured a wretched first half of his campaign with a shift to five-eighth once again failing before a brutal concussion led to talk of premature retirement from the game.
Yet while Ponga slowly worked his way back, Walsh stole a march on his fellow candidate and made an irrepressible case while firing the Broncos into the premiership frame.
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Walsh then dominated in the Origin arena during his two appearances in the series, before getting to within a whisker of ending Penrith’s stranglehold over the comp.
Meanwhile, Ponga remained in Newcastle during Origin and reverted to his favoured fullback spot where he went on a breathtaking run of form which saw the Knights surge into the finals and the 26-year-old scoop the Dally M Medal.
Both men have started the 2024 campaign in red-hot touch, with Ponga leading the Dally M race after six rounds and Walsh fighting back from a facial fracture to be as integral as ever to Brisbane’s cause.
State of Origin 2024: Who will play fullback for the Queensland Maroons? Reece Walsh to start with Kalyn Ponga injured
"I'm open to anything," Billy Slater said when quizzed on if he could fit Ponga and Walsh into his Maroons side.
"I'm not against trying to evolve our game and think about it in different ways.
"Whether it can work, I am not too sure. I watch our players and the habits they have got in their game and try and build a game plan around our strengths so they can be at their best."
After Ponga was left out of Origin calculations in 2023, as he was allowed to recover his confidence and form away from the glaring Origin spotlight, he was firmly back in the picture.
The Newcastle skipper has seven Queensland caps to his name already, progressing from a bench utility role into the side’s fullback in 2022, when he played a starring hand for his state.
"I think anything is possible," Slater replied when asked about the possibility of Walsh being shifted elsewhere to allow Ponga to return at No.1.
MORE: How Reece Walsh became Queensland's No.1 last year
"I don't build the team now. It is the players' role to build habits in their game and my role to watch them.
"In 40-odd days we accumulate all the actions they have built into their game and work it out."
However, those plans went up in smoke in Round 7 when Ponga went down with a foot injury.
Scans have since confirmed the worst for the Knights and Maroons, with the fullback suffering a Lisfranc injury which will sideline him for an extended period.
Will Kalyn Ponga miss the entire State of Origin series?
"Kalyn had scans on Monday morning confirming he has a Lisfranc injury," the club's Director of Football Peter Parr said.
"The next steps will include seeing a surgeon and setting an injury management program.
"Unfortunately, at this stage it appears to be a long-term injury, with a return to play likely to be months rather than weeks."
If Ponga is out for two months like Parr has suggested he will be, then he will definitely miss the Origin opener on June 5.
However, if he can return in eight weeks, then he could possibly be in contention for the second match on June 26 at the MCG.
In the third and final game of the series on July 17 at Suncorp Stadium, Ponga is likely to be back on deck and recovered from his right foot injury.
Reece Walsh vs. Kalyn Ponga 2024 stats
|
| Reece Walsh | Kalyn Ponga |
| Games | 5 | 7 |
| Tries | 6 | 1 |
| Try Assists | 1 | 4 |
| Linebreaks | 4 | 8 |
| Tackle Breaks | 18 | 37 |
| Avg. Run Metres | 136m | 156m |
*last updated after Round 7
