Ponga rubbishes rumours he ditched State of Origin to ‘escape NRL bubble’ early

Kalyn Ponga has come out swinging at suggestions he dodged State of Origin selection to escape the NRL bubble early, revealing it “could have been pretty costly” if he played through the pain for Queensland in the delayed 2020 series.

In the build-up to State of Origin 1, Queensland was hit with bad news; Kalyn Ponga would be unavailable for selection after making the difficult decision to go under the knife early in the NRL offseason.

The Knights fullback, 22, was originally tipped to link up with Wayne Bennett’s underdog lineup — a moniker they went on to prove very, very wrong — but pulled out days later. The main issue was his right shoulder, which “100%” require surgery if the star wanted to be ready for Round 1 next year.

Ponga made the call: he dialled up Bennett, and told him he was out.

Only, that wasn’t the end of it. Reports began to surface that the 22-year-old wasn’t recovering from an injury. Instead, Fox Sports wrote at the time, he had pulled the plug because “life in the bubble has worn him down.” On top of that, the starlet apparently felt he was “long odds” to play Origin regardless, mainly due to the emergence of boom Titans playmaker AJ Brimson.

Ponga has taken exception to those pre-Origin remarks, slamming the NRL journalists — which includes NRL 360’s Paul Kent — who circulated the rumours as he was recovering in Newcastle.

“I got my sling off just today actually. I’ve been in a sling for six weeks so it’s just rehab now and back to hard work,” he told Fox Sports.

“Journos, they make anything up and people believe it. When I got my surgery and they saw what was wrong with it, I had advice from people that I trust and I’m glad I made that decision to get the surgery.

“Given the extent of how bad it was, it could have been pretty costly.

“The [Queensland] boys got the job done, it was mad. [I was] disappointed, you always want to be in those games. Those are the hardest games in rugby league and that’s the environment you want to be in.

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“I was just happy the boys got the job done, we won and celebrated. Everything around the team, and every person what they went through, it was pretty cool to see.”

Ponga’s absence also set up a duel Queensland fans will be eager to see unfold. With Kalyn sidelined, Brimson, a childhood friend of Ponga’s, stepped up to the plate and shone in Game 1.

Unfortunately, Brimson was felled by an injury that denied him the chance to play out games two and three. He’ll be back by 2021’s series, however, and ready to challenge Ponga; a contest the Knights superstar is all smiles about.

“I love him. Every now and then he will text me to say he misses me,” Ponga said of Brimson.

“I think it’s crazy how far he’s come in the last year to be honest. He was good last year, but to come back and then those last nine games or whatever, he’s a freak, he stood out.

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“He’s just a really good player and it’s cool he will be part of the Queensland system for many years to come, it’s exciting.

“It’s healthy competition. Whoever gets to wear the jersey it’s a privilege and an honour, so I’m just happy he’s playing good footy and hopefully I can play good footy too.”

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