Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater has revealed both Kalyn Ponga and Reece Walsh could be picked in the team for State of Origin 1.
Ponga sat out of the 2023 Origin series after battling through a number of concussion-related issues through the first half of the season.
That left the door open for boom youngster Walsh, who had a breakout year with the Brisbane Broncos on the way to the grand final at the end of it, to make his Origin debut.
He was one of Queensland's best as the Maroons took out a straight sets series win before dropping the dead rubber in Sydney.
But Ponga has barely played a bad game for Queensland in the past, and the widely held narrative was that it would be a two-way showdown for the jersey come the 2024 series, with Slater facing one of his trickiest coaching decisions yet.
Ponga this week revealed on Triple M Radio that he will make himself eligible to play for the Maroons this year.
"I do want to put myself forward for Queensland this year," Ponga told Triple M Newcastle's Tanya and Steve on Wednesday.
"Hopefully we can have another good season here and I can play Origin."
Slater though, who has praised Walsh heavily, told AAP that both players could yet feature in the same team.
"Everything's a possibility," Slater said during a pre-season Origin camp that involved both Ponga and Walsh as part of a 34-man squad.
"(Ponga and Walsh) both contributed immensely to both the 2022 series and the 2023 series and they're both Queenslanders. I'm sure they'd love to be teammates one day as well.
If both players were picked, one would likely come from the bench. It's a role Ponga has filled before for the Maroons, with other star Queenslanders in the past also spending time in their Origin careers from the interchange bench.
Game 1 of this year's series will be played in Sydney at Accor Stadium on June 5, with Game 2 heading to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 26, before a potential decider is played in the Queensland capital on July 17.
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