EXCLUSIVE: Queensland selector Darren Lockyer's plea to Kalyn Ponga as superstar flirts with 'risk'
Queensland selector Darren Lockyer is making no bones of the fact that incumbent Maroons fullback Kalyn Ponga is putting his State of Origin selection in jeopardy by playing at five-eighth for the Newcastle Knights.
But Lockyer has urged Ponga to not worry about his potential axing and instead concentrate on nailing his switch to the No.6 jumper.
Not for the first time, Lockyer admitted on this week's edition of Wide World of Sports' QLDER that Ponga's move to Newcastle's No.6 jersey had put him in danger of going from man of the match in last year's decider to being ousted from the team.
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Ponga's fragile grip on the Maroons' No.1 jersey is also due to the electric rise of Broncos young gun Reece Walsh, who's dazzled at fullback since returning from the Warriors at the end of last season.
There's next to no chance of Ponga being picked at five-eighth for Queensland because of Cameron Munster, who's carving out such impressive State of Origin and NRL careers that respected figures in the game have likened him to rugby league Immortal Wally Lewis.
Kalyn Ponga of the Newcastle Knights. Getty Images
Lockyer insisted that focusing on his job as the Knights' five-eighth must be Ponga's priority during the lead-in to the opening State of Origin game, to be played at Adelaide Oval on May 31.
"I think he's made the decision (to play at five-eighth in the NRL), he just needs to back himself now," Lockyer said on QLDER.
"From the perspective of playing Origin, he's fortunate in that he's got a guy like Billy Slater as the coach who can still remove him from playing six, bring him back to fullback and remind him of what that position demands.
"There's no doubt there's a risk involved (with playing at five-eighth for the Knights), but I don't think he needs to be thinking about that right now. I think he just needs to focus on his job and his performance for Newcastle every week."
Ponga has struggled since returning from his latest concussion-forced break.
In Newcastle's 43-12 defeat to Parramatta last Friday night, the Knights co-captain missed eight tackles, more than all other players in the game, and failed to threaten the Eels in attack.
On the contrary, Walsh is placed equal third on the Dally M Medal leaderboard heading into round 10.
The 20-year-old has also polled more votes than all other fullbacks, with Dylan Edwards, Lachlan Miller, Tom Trbojevic, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Latrell Mitchell his closest pursuers of those who wear the No.1.
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Lockyer's two cents on Ponga is not only significant because he's a Queensland selector, but because the Broncos legend famously made a seamless shift from fullback to five-eighth in his 355-game first-grade career.
"My message to him would be just to keep it really simple," Lockyer said.
"In attack, you're in the halves now, you've got to think about playing the long game. It's about managing the game. It's not about all-out attack like you're doing as a fullback. You've got to be thinking about your kicking game, you've got to be thinking about building pressure, getting through your sets. It's pretty boring, but that's what you've got to do — keep it simple.
"He's got enough talent to then add to that as the game wears on.
"And then the other part of it ... It's quite topical at the moment; he's got to get his defence right. And that doesn't mean just turning up on the day and saying, 'I'm going to defend better'; he's got to practise that through the week, get to game day, focus on his defence.
"And he needs to keep his game plan really simple in attack.
"His talent will show when the time comes."
The Knights have a bye for Magic Round and will face the Titans in Newcastle next Sunday afternoon.
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