Photos: AAP
There was an Origin buzz in Newcastle ahead of the series opener on Wednesday night.
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For Brad Fittler and the NSW fans, the first good news came in the form of Billy Slater’s bad news.
Slater was injured and wouldn’t play Origin 1 at the MCG.
SPORT: The Newcastle Knights
The bad news for NSW and their coach followed when the Newcastle Knights’ teenage sensation Kalyn Ponga flew to Melbourne. Ponga was on standby to play if Dane Gagai’s injured finger ruled him out of the first match of the series.
James Tedesco performed brilliantly for the Blues on the night with this fantastic run to combine with Maloney and Josh Addo-Carr for a try that took the score to 22-12 with 10 minutes to go.
