Newcastle sensation Kalyn Ponga faces the ultimate Origin acid test over the next fortnight when he takes on the NRL's two most dominant fullbacks.
Queensland coach Kevin Walters has dangled a carrot in front of the Knights No.1 by promising he's in the frame for State of Origin II in the wake of Wednesday's series-opening loss.
Brought into camp as 19th man, he was considered for a debut off the bench in game one when Billy Slater went down with a hamstring injury before Walters opted for the experience of Anthony Milford.
But Ponga now has a chance to prove his bona fides in two tantalising personal head to head battles over the next fortnight.
First up he squares off with Sydney Roosters star James Tedesco at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday and eight days later, faces the man he's widely tipped to one day replace in the Maroons No.1 jumper - Melbourne legend Slater.
"He's a good player; he's played well this year and he's got the accolades he should," Roosters coach Trent Robinson said of the Knights No.1.
"And that's why we can't wait to head up to Newcastle to play our footy. We're at a point where there's still a lot of room for improvement. We want to improve our game and play how we want to play."
Robinson said he was confident his Origin contingent of Tedesco, Latrell Mitchell, Boyd Cordner and Dylan Napa would all back up for the game.
Tedesco has returned to his club as the toast of the NRL after his man of the match Origin effort.
As well as being a constant menace around the ruck and taking tough carries out of his own danger zone, he scored a try, had a hand in two more, ran for a game-high 224 metres, made two linebreaks and busted 13 tackles.
"The game before Origin, he broke open the game through the middle of the ruck," Robinson said.
"It's his style of play and he's been doing that here as well."
STATS THAT MATTER
* The Roosters have won their past five and nine of their past 10 against the Knights.
* These two teams are conceding the most metres this season, with the Knights allowing the opposition to run on average 1467 metres and the Roosters 1436.
* The game pitches Newcastle's best completion rate in the NRL (78.7 per cent) against the Roosters' worst (72 per cent).
Source: Fox Sports Stats
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