Not only did Smith opt to pick Knights star Kalyn Ponga as his fullback, but he also didn\u2019t find room for Walsh on the six-man bench.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776909012_441_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe contentious positions were halfback and fullback and I\u2019ve gone for KP,\u201d Smith said on 100% Footy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe form that KP\u2019s shown in the past fortnight since coming back from that hamstring injury, I think he\u2019s gotta be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Responding to Smith\u2019s decision to omit the Broncos’ fullback, former NSW Blues coach and Bulldogs GM of Football Phil Gould was stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the grand final was over last year, I couldn\u2019t imagine a time where anyone would say Reece Walsh wouldn\u2019t be the fullback,\u201d Gould added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe produced single-handedly the greatest individual performance I\u2019ve ever seen in a grand final last year and you know he\u2019s got that big-match presence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other bloke [Ponga] is a superstar too. They\u2019ve got an embarrassment of riches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron Smith\u2019s QLD Team for Game One<\/p>\n
1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Selwyn Cobbo 3. Robert Toia 4. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Cameron Munster 7. Sam Walker 8. Tino Fa\u2019asuamaleaui 9. Harry Grant 10. Patrick Carrigan 11. Reuben Cotter 12. Kurt Capewell 13. Trent Loiero 14. Kurt Mann 15. Lindsay Collins 16. Tom Flegler 17. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki 18. Briton Nikora 19. Max Plath<\/p>\n
Former player and now expert commentator Cameron Smith.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
QLD UNVEILS NEW ASSISTANT COACH<\/p>\n
Queensland Rugby League (QRL) have confirmed that Ben Te\u2019o has been appointed as the new assistant coach of the QLD Maroons and will join camp next week in the lead-up to the series-opener.<\/p>\n
More than a decade after playing together, Te\u2019o will reunite with Maroons coach Billy Slater and work under him, having previously coached the state\u2019s Under-19s side in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you come into a Queensland set up, it\u2019s what can you do for the team,\u201d Te\u2019o said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing involved in the Hostplus Cup was a great opportunity for me to further my coaching, I started off with the Redcliffe Colts in the under 21s when I retired.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving into that senior level \u2026 and coaching a lot of players that I had already played with, was a challenge too.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Being just) one step away from the NRL, I really took pride in transitioning players from the juniors up through to the Hostplus Cup, and some of them have gone onto the NRL now. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a really big part of my journey as a coach and something I am so grateful to have done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben Te\u2019o.Source: AAP<\/p>\n
Previously appearing in seven Origin matches for Queensland between 2012 14, Te\u2019o is known as a defensive specialist coach and has been endorsed by several of the game\u2019s head coaches, including Titans coach and former QLD assistant Josh Hannay.<\/p>\n
The opportunity to become a Queensland assistant was one of the factors involved when Te\u2019o made an explosive exit as a Brisbane Broncos assistant coach during March.<\/p>\n
\u201cBen is a proud Queenslander,\u201d Queensland coach Billy Slater added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s lived it as a player and he has a true passion to coach. I\u2019m really excited to have him involved.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Origin great Cameron Smith has made a massive call on Brisbane Broncos fullback Reece Walsh, leaving him out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-665056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}