How Ponga picked up where he left off before send-off

Kalyn Ponga may have been apologetic after his Game One send-off but the superstar fullback claims he needed no further motivation than stepping into the Origin arena in a Queensland jersey to provide an influential performance at the MCG.

Ponga produced a try assist and his support play was crucial throughout a second half in which Queensland overcame a 12-8 halftime deficit to win 44-24 and level the series in front of a record 91671 crowd.

“Putting this jersey on is a privilege,” he said post-game. “Any opportunity you get, you want to make the most of it.

"A lot of my motivation came from just wanting to do my job and wanting to play the way I know I can play, not so much from the past. I’m happy that we won.”

The try assist came from a set play after a scrum in an attacking area. Halfback Sam Walker played it to Ponga, who laid it off for Selwyn Cobbo to score the second of this three tries.

“We got it on in Game I, so it's not like we reinvented the wheel or anything,” he said.

“I'm just lucky to be getting the ball off Sam Walker, who really put me in a good position there. I've got quality players around me.”

The Knights captain was full of praise for his Maroons teammates whose hard work he credited with the ability to be creative and free flowing in attack.

“We've got some hardworking players, both teams do, and that first half was tough,” he said.

“In the second half, the ball fell our way a little bit more. It is nice to see Munny [Cameron Munster] and Sam Walker and Harry Grant, to play with them and to learn off them throughout the week and prepare with them.

"It’s a privilege, but the foundations of footy will never change. You don't get to do that sort of stuff unless you get the footy right.”

The record Origin crowd at the MCG helped lift Ponga and his team to the win.

“The crowd was loud, they were quite involved as well,” he recalled.

“I was listening to the chants that were going on. You do hear them. I'm not going to lie, it was awesome. It's a pretty cool experience.”

It will no doubt be cacophonous at Suncorp Stadium in three weeks for the series decider in Brisbane.

Ponga said there were moments that the Maroons would look back on to improve, but overall, the performance was a good one.

“We just had a clear understanding what our game looked like, and we went after it," he said.

"There's probably moments in the game that we'll look back on that we went away from it, but for the most part, we were dialled in.”