Kalyn Ponga has laughed off his in-game skirmish with Maroons teammate Cam Munster.

Things got heated at AAMI Park between the Storm and Knights last Friday night when Munster shoved Ponga to the ground in a scuffle, which started a brawl between the two sides.

When asked about the incident, Ponga assured reporters there’s no bad blood between the pair.

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“You gotta love him, don’t you?” Ponga said with a chuckle.

“I’ve played against him so many times. He was trying to inspire his team and to be fair, his team won the game so 1-0 to Munny (Munster) I guess.”

Ponga revealed that Munster was at his mischevious and fiery best from the outset.

“I could tell from the start of the game that he wanted that as he was laughing at me earlier in the game. I didn’t think anyone saw that,” the Maroons fullback said.

“He’s a competitor. That’s when Munny is at his best and unfortunately I was on the wrong side of that.”

Cam Munster and Kalyn Ponga got into it during last Friday’s Storm-Knights clash.Source: FOX SPORTS

Ponga didn’t finish Game I after being sent off for a shoulder charge on Tolu Koula.

He was involved in a somewhat similar incident against the Storm, leading with the shoulder when attempting a tackle in cover defence, but he made contact with the ball rather than the player so nothing came from it.

However, it put Ponga’s flawed technique in the spotlight again. The fullback admits there’s room for improvement in that area.

“I definitely do acknowledge that I can be better in moments. Obviously, what happened in game one, whether right or wrong, I still put my team in a certain position,” Ponga reflected.

“There’s definitely some accountability on my end. It is tough. It’s a position that happens in a split second. I’m running as fast as I can, someone else is running as fast as they can to a corner… but I do acknowledge I need to be better for sure.”

MOSES: “I’M GOOD”

NSW five-eighth Mitch Moses says there’s no doubt in his mind that he’ll be fit to take his place in next week’s Origin clash at the MCG, with Blues coach Laurie Daley declaring the star playmaker must prove his fitness at Thursday’s training session.

Moses was ruled out of the series opener the day before the game in Sydney after he suffered a hamstring strain at training, while the Eels star hurt his calf in Origin camp last year and missed the final two games of the series.

Ethan Strange did a tremendous job on short notice in the halves at Accor Stadium, but Daley has turned to Moses and his booming right boot to partner Nathan Cleary in Melbourne.

“I don’t think it’s a risk,” Daley said.

“I’ve got full confidence in Mitch. He’s ticking every box so you just don’t hold someone back thinking that something may happen. You’ve got to be confident enough to run with it, and we’ll see what happens. I’m very confident that he’ll be right to play.

“And you’ve got a guy like Ethan Strange there who was terrific in game one, so if something did happen to him during the game then Ethan goes straight into that position.”

Moses will have to prove his fitness at Thursday’s session, with Dolphins halfback Isaiya Katoa on standby if he’s ruled out.

“He’ll have to train flat out on Thursday, so there’s no issue there. We probably won’t have him do all the session, but he’ll need to be going at full clip, and he’s on track to do that. There are no issues as far as we’re concerned,” Daley said.

Laurie Daley has backed Mitchell Moses to play in Origin II after a hamstring injury kept him out of the series opener. Picture: Scott Gardiner/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

“Izzy will go back and play with the Dolphins on Friday night. I think if we had a lot of concern, we probably would have made the call to have Izzy in the 20 somewhere, so we’re comfortable with where it’s at.”

Moses hasn’t played since May 16 and has had to deal with several injury setbacks that limited him to just 21 appearances in 2024 and 2025, but the veteran playmaker is confident he’ll be right to go next week.

“I’m not too sure what the plan is, and I think everyone’s restricted these days,” he said.

“I’m pretty confident in myself that I’ll be good and ready to go out there and do a job. I’ll do everything right this week, get ready, prep and hopefully do a job for the state.”

The injury before game one occurred while he was doing extras after a session and felt “a little spark in my hammy” for the first time in his career.

It robbed him of the chance to partner Cleary for just the second time together with the Blues, with the Penrith halfback arguably in career-best form after he dismantled the Tigers on Sunday.

Their combination in last year’s opener was encouraging, with both men dispelling the notion that two genuine halfbacks couldn’t gel at Origin level.

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BLUES AGAIN URGED TO MAKE LINE-UP SWITCH

Former Blues star Braith Anasta has once again urged NSW Laurie Daley to promote Cam Murray to the starting line up to help arrest the team’s shocking first half record.

Dating back to the start of last series when Daley took over, the Blues have been outscored 68-26 in first halves (four games).

Anasta was strong in his position to start Murray at lock ahead of the first game of the series. In the end, Daley kept the 1-19 as named, with Murray off the pine in jersey No. 14.

The Blues would quickly fall behind 20-0, no match for a fast-starting Maroons side, continuing their dreadful first half run.

“He has to start Cam Murray and Isaah Yeo either has to go to the front row or to the bench,” Anasta opined.

“I don’t have a problem with them picking the same team and backing the same group of guys that got the job done but the start needs to be a hell of a lot better and they need to change it.

“If he doesn’t do that, I have grave fears.

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“I don’t want to discredit the job Radley and Murray do off the bench but with an extra player on the field, of course the players coming on at the back end were effective.

“If we’re going to pick the same team, let’s focus on what we got wrong and let’s fix that.”

Anasta believes Murray’s energy and quick play the ball will prove to be a huge asset for the Blues early in the contest.