State of Origin 2018: Kalyn Ponga’s Queensland debut brings back memories of Billy Slater, Alfie Langer
KALYN Ponga’s selection is a watershed moment for Queensland, in that he can inspire a generation of players in the same way as Billy Slater or Alfie Langer did on their Origin debuts, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.
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KALYN Ponga’s selection for Queensland has taken fans back 14 years to when baby-faced Billy Slater first wore the Maroon jersey.
And it’s taken old stagers back 17 years before that when a gifted yet raw youngster who was even more baby-faced than Slater stepped up to the plate for the first time.
His name was Allan Langer and he stayed, on an off, for 15 years.
Slater is still there, though is soon to exit stage left.
Langer, Slater and Ponga have two things in common — their State of Origin debuts will be made at age 20 and they have the rare and precious ability to captivate the masses.
Ponga’s selection is a watershed moment for the Queensland game.
Rugby league can only hope Ponga can inspire a generation of youngsters in the way that Langer’s career proved to a teenage Slater that even though players get bigger and stronger by the year the little man can still thrive.
Ponga’s electric footwork, his silken passing skills his freakish anticipation are winning hordes of fans on both sides of the border.
Even former NSW five-eighth Jamie Soward finds Ponga-watching an essential part of his weekend.
“When Newcastle play it is the one time of the weekend when I just sit down for two hours and just watch and it’s all because of Ponga,’’ Soward said.
In a game increasingly bogged down by structure and set plays, Ponga is a ghost in the machine.
It would take a brave man to suggest Ponga will have the stunning careers of Slater and Langer but he certainly seems as ready — maybe more ready — than they were for the big challenge.
The remarkable Langer was not even playing NRL at the time of his elevation in 1987.
He was chosen out of the Ipswich Jets and he only just pipped the skilful Laurie Spina — coach Wayne Bennett’s pick — for the job.
At a team meeting before the first game Bennett asked where Langer should be hidden in defence and the discussion went round and round before it all became too much for veteran Paul Vautin who piped up with “this is embarrassing — he will be right — he’s a Queenslander and he will rise to the challenge”.
Rise he did, winning man of the match award in his third game.
Slater was also an instant hit.
Though quiet in his first game for the Maroons on the wing in 2004, he settled in quickly enough to that series produce one of the most iconic moments in Origin football, his mesmerising chip and chase try when he swooped on a Darren Lockyer kick and chipped over the head of Blues fullback Anthony Minichiello.
When Michael Ennis was compiling his series The Greatest on memorable moments in recent Australian rugby league history that try was always going to be the first episode of the series.
Rugby league is generally a game of hard yards, grunt and grind. Magic men are rare. Slater and Langer had their bags of tricks and so does Ponga.
A fascinating journey awaits us all.
Originally published as State of Origin 2018: Kalyn Ponga’s Queensland debut brings back memories of Billy Slater, Alfie Langer