KALYN Ponga has warmed up for what shapes as the first full State of Origin campaign of his career by climbing off his sickbed to inspire the Knights to a crucial 24-16 win against the Warriors on Saturday.
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Knights coach Adam O'Brien revealed after the round-12 clash at Redcliffe that Ponga had hardly been sighted at training last week after contracting a virus.
"He won't tell you, but we only had him today," O'Brien said of his skipper.
"We didn't have him all week. He's been crook, so he stayed away from the club all week ... I think he did five minutes of yesterday's captain's run and then woke up today and said: 'I'm ready to go'. He's in good shape now, but you can't ask much more of a bloke."
Ponga had a hand in two of Newcastle's four tries as they recovered from an early 12-0 deficit to post a victory that lifted them from 15th on the competition ladder to 13th, at the halfway point in proceedings.
O'Brien declared the 24-year-old was a "certainty" to be named in the No.1 jersey on Monday when Queensland selectors announce their squad for the interstate-series opener in Sydney on Wednesday week.
Ponga debuted for the Maroons in 2018, after just 24 NRL games, but has worn the Queensland jersey only three times since.
He also played the first two Origins in 2019 and game three last season.
The dynamic fullback has helped Queensland win two of those clashes but is yet to feature in a series triumph.
Now he is set to play under one of the all-time great fullbacks in Billy Slater, who will be coaching the Maroons for the first time and previously mentored Ponga when they were Queensland teammates four years ago.
"Anyone who gets to wear that Maroons jersey, it's special," Ponga said.
"It's a privilege and an honour ... I would like to be there for all three [games]."
Ponga hopes to benefit from Slater's expert tuition.
"Billy's like that. He's very giving," he said. "He cares about his players.
"He cares about the fullback position. And he wants to win, no doubt."
Ponga appears certain to be joined in the Queensland squad by his Knights teammate, centre Dane Gagai.
Newcastle prop Daniel Saifiti was ruled out of NSW contention when he suffered a knee injury in the first half against the Warriors.
