So much that when asked about getting the nod ahead of the Broncos fullback in Billy Slater\u2019s Queensland team for Game 1, Ponga didn\u2019t want to dwell on the topic too long.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think being selected, you earn the jersey. I\u2019ve got a lot of respect for Reece and that\u2019s probably why I won\u2019t touch on that topic too much,\u201d Ponga said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here to do a job, I know the footy I can play and am playing at the moment, and I want to take that into next Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all I have been focusing on \u2013 doing my job at the Knights, making sure we win games there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ponga has definitely done that in 2026, with the Knights already winning more games than they did last season when they claimed the wooden spoon. <\/p>\n
Slater confirmed on Fox League\u2019s \u2018NRL 360\u2019<\/a> that he did give some thought to play Ponga in the halfback jumper before settling on Sam Walker as Tom Dearden\u2019s replacement.<\/p>\n While Ponga won\u2019t line up at halfback next Wednesday, he said he could play a similar role to the one he does at the Knights where the lines between No.1 and No.7 blur in attack.<\/p>\n \u201cI know what I\u2019m like \u2013 if that was the challenge that was ahead of me I would\u2019ve tuned in and got my head on, focused on it and prepared as best I can,\u201d Ponga said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way I play fullback is a little bit like a half, my role at Knights is in that first receiver, second receiver type of role. Obviously, there\u2019s a difference between fullback and half, and that\u2019s the defence side of things, and that\u2019s probably something I wouldn\u2019t be used to.<\/p>\n \u201cBut with the footy, it would be pretty similar to how I play.\u201d<\/p>\n Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n ‘Ponga is better now than Dally M year’ | 01:25<\/p>\n BLUES DEBUTANT ON THE LAURIE DALEY COFFEE BEHIND CALL-UP<\/p>\n Blues debutant Addin Fonua-Blake has opened up on his coffee catch-up with NSW coach Laurie Daley while admitting he thought a State of Origin call-up was \u201cprobably past me\u201d.<\/p>\n Fonua-Blake was available to be selected for the first time this year after the NRL changed its eligibility rules.<\/p>\n While the Sharks enforcer has primarily represented Tonga on the international stage, he previously played one Test for New Zealand \u2014 a tier one nation.<\/p>\n It meant that until this year he was ineligible to suit up for the Blues, but when that changed Daley organised to meet up with Fonua-Blake for coffee at a local cafe in the Shire, hoping to find out what the 30-year-old\u2019s goals were for the year. <\/p>\n \u201cI told him I wanted to try make the Origin team and that it would mean the world to me,\u201d Fonua-Blake said.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up watching these games as a kid you want to be a part of them.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just said, \u2018Alright, well, go out there and prove to me why you should be in the team\u2019, and I feel like I\u2019ve done that.\u201d<\/p>\n Daley clearly felt the same, with Fonua-Blake revealing he got the call from the Blues coach while he was driving home on Sunday.<\/p>\n It was a mixture of emotions for the Sharks front rower, who was both \u201cexcited\u201d and \u201ca little bit nervous\u201d but \u201csmiling from ear to ear\u201d.<\/p>\n Addin Fonua-Blake makes his Origin debut. (Photo by Matt King\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI thought this game was probably past me,\u201d he later admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously with the rules, I was just a fan from afar watching the games.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the post got put out that the rules were changing, it was something that I was wanting to be a part of.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just happy that I got a call-up and all the hard work has paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n Fonua-Blake made the decision to represent New Zealand, and therefore rule himself out of Origin contention, much earlier in his career and doesn\u2019t have any regrets.<\/p>\n \u201cI backed that,\u201d Fonua-Blake said.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like they (the Blues) backed my decision as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were always conversations like, \u2018Oh, do you reckon you would have made it?\u2019 or whatever.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I just said, \u2018Oh, look, I don\u2019t know if I would have made it, but I would have loved to have given it a shot\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we don\u2019t have to think about the what-ifs. I\u2019m here now.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE NEWS<\/p>\n TEAM TIPS: Broncos\u2019 injury crisis deepens as star goes under knife; Warriors\u2019 $900k dilemma<\/a><\/p>\n