Queensland star Ponga a late scratching for Knights with calf injury

Newcastle superstar Kalyn Ponga is out of Saturday's NRL clash with Brisbane with a calf injury.

Ponga was cut from the side an hour before kick-off in what shapes as a potential headache for Queensland coach Kevin Walters as he gets set to name his side for State of Origin III.

Knights coach has moved Kurt Mann to fullback with Mason Lino coming off the bench into the halves.

Meanwhile, Brisbane have confirmed playmaker Anthony Milford will play at fullback in a positional switch with Darius Boyd, who will start at five-eighth for the first time in his career.

AAP