PHOTO:

NRLPhotos.com:

Shane

Myers

(Saifiti,

Klemmer);

Brett

Costello

(Origin),

Richard

Dobson

(Hughes)

16 BIG LEAGUE 2019 Round 19

Y

OUNG Knights prop Daniel

Saifiti says David Klemmer’s

arrival in Newcastle has

made him a better player on the

field and a better person off it.

Klemmer’s arrival at the

club originally relegated

Saifiti to the interchange, but

as the season has progressed

their combination has grown,

culminating with the opportunity

to play State of Origin together.

“If he didn’t come to the Knights, I wouldn’t

be playing Origin,” Saifiti tells Big League.

“He’s helped me so much. I can’t thank

him enough.”

With prolific middle forwards Klemmer,

James Gavet and Tim Glasby joining the club

in the off-season, Saifiti has had to fight

his way into the starting line-up. He got

his opportunity to start in Round 7 against

Parramatta – and has stayed there ever since.

“[Klemmer] showed me the ropes and

taught me to believe in myself. We had to

compete for spots and he pushed me to

be a better player,” Saifiti says.

“He’s been such a good influence, both

on and off the field.

It’s hard to explain,

but he helps me with

all the little things.

He’s taught me so

much since he arrived

at the club and I’m

proud to be playing

alongside him, for both

the Knights and NSW.”

BLUES

BROTHERS

Klemmer and Saifiti

shared a special

moment when they

were given the chance

to start alongside

each other in Origin III

at ANZ Stadium.

With the series on the line, the Newcastle

duo was handed the responsibility to lead

theBlues’packfromthestart.

One never thought he’d leave his old club,

the other never thought he’d play Origin

• but together, Newcastle’s biggest Knights

have brought out the bestineachother.

Men of

However the opportunity for the

club-mates to play together nearly

didn’t happen after Klemmer

was originally overlooked for

the decider. The star prop

missed Game Two due to

a broken wrist, and despite

refusing surgery in an

attempt to be fit for the

decider, coach Brad

Fittler remained loyal

to his winning side.

It wasonly a suspension

to Tariq Sims that re-opened

the door for the Knights

tough-man.

“I’m a competitive person

and I always want to be in

these sides. The team did

a wonderful job over in

Perth and when the side

was picked and I wasn’t

there I was still proud of

them,” Klemmer says.

“We’re very competitive

in our state and we’ve got a lot

of players to pick from.”

Instead of kicking

stones, Klemmer

re-joined the Origin

squad with no hard feelings

and after returning with

a good attitude, he was

promoted to a starting role.

“As soon as I was recalled,

I was proud to be back. It didn’t

matter that I wasn’t originally

picked because I knew I had

a job to do,” he says.

“It was good to hear that he

[Fittler] wanted me to start – that

gave me a lot of confidence.”

Saifiti was overjoyed by the

opportunity to share the front

row with Klemmer, but at the

same time was saddened for

his former Newcastle team-mate, Sims.

“Tariq is one of my good mates so it was

tough to see him miss out, but it gave ‘Klem’

a chance. It was bittersweet for me,” he says.

By MICHAEL

BLOK

@michaelblok