First 40 was the hardest football I’ve played: Ponga

BRISBANE: Maroons superstar Kalyn Ponga, pictured, has described the opening 40 minutes of the epic State of Origin series opener as “the hardest footy I’ve played”.
Despite trailing 8-0 after that pulsating 40 minutes, the Maroons remained confident they could work their way back into the game and that’s precisely what they did to run out 18-14 winners.
“It was an awesome game,” Ponga said.
“Our boys were outstanding.
“We were still positive for the second half.
“We knew we were in the game.
“We came out in the second half and just gave it to them.”
Queensland’s desperation was typified by Ponga’s effort to throw his body on the line when Latrell Mitchell stormed down the left side in a late bid to steal victory for the Blues.
“I just put everything I had in front of him,” Ponga said.
“It slowed him down. I was a bit of a speed bump.”
Ponga spent plenty of time with legendary Maroons fullback Billy Slater in the build-up to the series opener and learned plenty.
“Billy says to do things my way. That was his main message,” Ponga said.
“I love that and at half-time he said, ‘You’re doing outstanding, keep doing that’.
“It felt good to be in a position I’m comfortable with. I was stuffed in the first half with some of my efforts.
“It’s definitely a lot faster and there’s no room for error. I’m playing with some outstanding players.”
For new captain Daly Cherry-Evans, the experience was everything he hoped for and more. “Everyone knows how hard Origin is. To get the first one is a big effort from the team,” Cherry-Evans said.
“Things didn’t go our way and we had to stay positive. We had to tighten our defence up.
“I can’t be prouder of the boys and the way they defended in the second half.
“Origin is won on defence. To keep them to one try with four minutes to go is a big effort.” – AAP