He still considers himself an All Blacks fan.
But Kalyn Ponga has no regrets about snubbing his father's homeland and pledging his allegiance to Queensland.
The 20-year-old appeared to have made the right call after joining the Maroons camp on the Gold Coast ahead of his much-anticipated State of Origin debut in Sunday's must-win game two.
Queensland may have won a tug of war for Ponga's allegiances but the young gun's New Zealand ties still came up when he fronted a packed media scrum at Camp Maroon.
His father Andre is a Kiwi, while Ponga was born in Western Australia but spent five years in New Zealand from the age of eight, enough to become a devout All Blacks fan.
Asked at Camp Maroon if he still backed the All Blacks, Ponga said: "I do, yes. I hope they do well."
But Ponga said the decision to put his hand up for Queensland sat well with him - and his New Zealand-born dad.
"I was comfortable when I made the decision. My family means a lot to me and getting their acceptance was very important," he said.
"Once I got that I was very happy with my decision.
"But making the decision wasn't going to get me anywhere. I have done a lot of hard work to get here."
Ponga had no complaints after earning a Maroons cap with just 24 NRL games to his name.
But not so long ago it seemed Ponga was torn over his representative future.
Ponga avoided making a representative call altogether in 2016 when he opted not to play rep footy after being eligible for both the Junior Kiwis and Junior Kangaroos.
In October, he was picked for the Maori side to take on New Zealand Residents in Auckland, only to be reduced to running the drinks because of a shoulder complaint.
Ponga has been earmarked for greatness since 2016, when he became just the sixth player to make his NRL debut in the finals at just 17.
He had played just two NRL games for North Queensland when he signed a four-year, $3 million-plus Newcastle deal from 2018.
Asked if he was feeling the pressure ahead of his Origin debut, the laid-back Ponga said: "I always get that question but I never really do.
"The things that go through my mind are doing my role for the boys, make my family proud, outside of that ... I don't feel any expectations, no."
