Kalyn Ponga won't be coming to the rescue of the Queensland Maroons after his withdrawal yesterday from the Knights' side to meet the Warriors on Saturday effectively ruled him out of Origin II in Brisbane on Sunday week.
Despite being named to return this week after being sidelined for Newcastle's past five matches with a groin tear, Ponga failed to convince the Knights' high performance staff he is completely over the injury.
His withdrawal is a huge blow to the side's chances of beating the Warriors.
"We just weren't prepared to take the risk with him in the end, given his limited preparation," coach Adam O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald last night.
"It's disappointing for everyone including Kalyn because we were all hoping he'd make the finish line and be right to go. But the bottom line is he is just too important to us not to play the long game with him and make sure he is 100 percent.
"As it stands, that would not have been the case. The beauty now is with the rep bye, he'll have an extra couple of weeks to do what he needs to do to be firing on all cylinders."
Ponga trained lightly with the squad on Tuesday and did more during Wednesday's session but there were fears his lack of training in recent weeks would have left him open to further injury if he took the field against the Warriors.
It's understood he met with the club's medical and performance staff yesterday before the decision was made to rule him out.
The news won't have pleased Maroons coach Paul Green, who was banking on Ponga playing this weekend to prove his fitness for Origin II. He would have been an automatic inclusion for the game in Brisbane following Queensland's 50-6 thrashing by the Blues in Origin I.
Ironically, it may open the door for teenage Warriors star Reece Walsh to make his Origin debut if the Titans' AJ Brimson is also ruled out.
