{"id":51619,"date":"2025-06-29T23:43:39","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T23:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619"},"modified":"2025-06-29T23:43:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T23:43:39","slug":"reece-walsh-in-state-of-origin-twist-after-devastating-blow-for-kalyn-ponga-before-decider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619","title":{"rendered":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider…."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\r\n
\r\n
<\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest twist ahead of the State of Origin Game\u202f3 decider on July 9 at Sydney\u2019s Accor Stadium:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to his foot following the Knights’ 22\u201118 loss to Canberra on June\u202f27, confirmed in scans on June\u202f28 .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The injury ends his Origin campaign and likely his NRL season, as he’s ruled out of Game\u202f3.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With Ponga sidelined, Reece\u00a0Walsh emerges as a strong contender for the Queensland fullback spot .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He\u2019s recently returned from a knee issue, starred for the Broncos again, and looks set to feature against the Warriors to prove his fitness and form .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coach Billy Slater is expected to weigh Walsh\u2019s return against the option of moving Hamiso Tabuai\u2011Fidow from wing\/center to fullback .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reece\u00a0Walsh may return to the Maroons squad, whether as starting No.\u202f1 or serving as the bench replacement .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Queensland coach Billy Slater must decide soon: insert Walsh at fullback, shift Tabuai\u2011Fidow, or try another option.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Broncos vs Warriors this weekend\u2014watching Walsh for fitness and form.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Announcement of Queensland\u2019s Game\u202f3 squad\u2014will Walsh be picked?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Strategy: Will Slater opt for Walsh\u2019s speed or Tabuai\u2011Fidow\u2019s adaptability?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bottom line: Ponga\u2019s devastating Lisfranc injury has opened the door for Reece Walsh to return and potentially secure the No.\u202f1 jersey for Game\u202f3. With time running out, his upcoming club performance could seal his Origin fate.<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider….   Here\u2019s the latest twist ahead of the State of Origin Game\u202f3 decider on July 9 at Sydney\u2019s Accor Stadium: Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to his foot following the Knights’ 22\u201118 loss to Canberra […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":51623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[701],"class_list":["post-51619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-canberra-raiders"],"yoast_head":"\nReece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"letsportsrock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-29T23:43:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"345\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amos Nabizo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amos Nabizo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amos Nabizo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/044479f72bdbd75f9523e745d3be6c30\"},\"headline\":\"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider….\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-29T23:43:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619\"},\"wordCount\":277,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Canberra Raiders\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619\",\"name\":\"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-29T23:43:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/044479f72bdbd75f9523e745d3be6c30\"},\"description\":\"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":345},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?p=51619#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider….\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"letsportsrock\",\"description\":\"Sport News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/044479f72bdbd75f9523e745d3be6c30\",\"name\":\"Amos Nabizo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d569857c07d3899c6ca842ffea32daa1672c05549833530fe37e68ae7b521ba4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d569857c07d3899c6ca842ffea32daa1672c05549833530fe37e68ae7b521ba4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d569857c07d3899c6ca842ffea32daa1672c05549833530fe37e68ae7b521ba4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amos Nabizo\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/wp-admin\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.letsportsrock.com\\\/?author=15\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....","description":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....","og_description":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....","og_url":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619","og_site_name":"letsportsrock","article_published_time":"2025-06-29T23:43:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":345,"url":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amos Nabizo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amos Nabizo","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619"},"author":{"name":"Amos Nabizo","@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/#\/schema\/person\/044479f72bdbd75f9523e745d3be6c30"},"headline":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider….","datePublished":"2025-06-29T23:43:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619"},"wordCount":277,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg","keywords":["Canberra Raiders"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619","url":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619","name":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-06-29T23:43:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/#\/schema\/person\/044479f72bdbd75f9523e745d3be6c30"},"description":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider....","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg","width":640,"height":345},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?p=51619#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reece Walsh in State of Origin twist after devastating blow for Kalyn Ponga before decider…."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/","name":"letsportsrock","description":"Sport News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/#\/schema\/person\/044479f72bdbd75f9523e745d3be6c30","name":"Amos Nabizo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d569857c07d3899c6ca842ffea32daa1672c05549833530fe37e68ae7b521ba4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d569857c07d3899c6ca842ffea32daa1672c05549833530fe37e68ae7b521ba4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d569857c07d3899c6ca842ffea32daa1672c05549833530fe37e68ae7b521ba4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amos Nabizo"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-admin\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/?author=15"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/images-2025-06-30T004238.041.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51625,"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51619\/revisions\/51625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.letsportsrock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}