Newcastle Kalyn Ponga will represent Queensland and Australia after rejecting New Zealand

THE representative tug of war over Newcastle fullback Kalyn Ponga is over with the young star deciding where his ambitions will lie in the future.

New recruit Kalyn Ponga during Newcastle Knights training in Mayfield. Picture. Phil Hillyard

QUEENSLAND is preparing for life without the playmakers from the golden generation with Ash Taylor, Kalyn Ponga and Corey Norman named in a streamlined Maroons Senior Emerging Origin squad.

Newcastle recruit Ponga was heavily pursued by New Zealand but the former Cowboys prodigy has declared his commitment to the Maroons.

The smaller squad of 11 NRL players will assemble on the Gold Coast next month as part of the annual camp when Maroons-in-waiting are indoctrinated into the Queensland system which has triumphed in 11 of the past 12 interstate series.

The program has been a proven success since it was first established by Wayne Bennett in 2001 with eight players involved in the 2017 camp going on to make their Origin debuts this year when the Maroons won the last two games of the series.

With Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk retiring from representative football and fullback Billy Slater committed to one more campaign for Queensland, the Maroons need to find their next batch of superstars for the attacking spine.

Ponga is one of rugby league’s brightest young talents.

Michael Morgan, Cameron Munster and Anthony Milford lead the race for the vacant halves spots while Darius Boyd will be a natural fit at fullback when Slater hangs up his Origin boots.

But the depth in the critical positions has been showcased by the inclusion of Taylor, Ponga and Norman in the smaller squad which has been designed to allow for more quality time with coaching staff.

“With the smaller numbers, it lets the Origin team staff spend more time with the individuals and the players can also spend more time with each other,” Walters said.

“Corey Norman is a player who has been on our horizon for some years and we feel the time is right to bring him in.

“He gained a lot of maturity with his football this past season.

“I have spoken to Kalyn and he has indicated that he wants to be part of the Queensland pathways which is very exciting for Kalyn and very exciting for the Queensland Rugby League.

“He is a player of the future so it is good news for Maroons fans that he has confirmed his allegiance with us.”

Walters said the likes of Jake Granville, Korbin Sims and Moses Mbye have “graduated” from the squad as they are well aware of Queensland team expectations.

“They have been involved in these squads for a number of years and know what will be required of them,” Walters said.

“We will be continuing to monitor their progress at their clubs.”

EMERGING ORIGIN SQUAD

Kyle Feldt (NQ Cowboys)

Ethan Lowe (NQ Cowboys)

Felise Kaufusi (Melbourne Storm)

Kalyn Ponga (Newcastle Knights)

Tautau Moga (Newcastle Knights)

Jai Arrow (Gold Coast Titans)

Lloyd Perrett (Manly Sea Eagles)

Ashley Taylor (Gold Coast Titans)

Christian Welch (Melbourne Storm)

Corey Norman (Parramatta Eels)

Brenko Lee (Gold Coast Titans)

Originally published as Newcastle Kalyn Ponga will represent Queensland and Australia after rejecting New Zealand