Des Hasler reckons the State of Origin series was the making of David Klemmer as a bona fide NRL star.
While NSW suffered an epic meltdown in the Origin decider to hand the shield back to Queensland, giant forward Klemmer left a lasting impression on the Maroons in his first interstate series.
Ahead of Friday night’s clash against Parramatta, Canterbury coach Hasler said his 21-year-old enforcer came of age over his three games in the sky blue.
“It’s been a great experience for Dave,” he said.
“David doesn’t over complicate things. That’s the most refreshing thing about Dave. He just gets on, gets the job done.
“I thought he had a great series. He’s really established himself as a player.”
The 21-year-old returned to his role off the bench in the Bulldogs’ loss to Brisbane last week after the return of skipper James Graham.
But Klemmer rates very highly with Hasler, who said the Kangaroos representative still had plenty of improvement left.
“He knows there’s still parts of his game he needs to address,” Hasler said.
“And that’s the exciting thing about watching young players such as David come through the ranks.”
Klemmer, is an Eels product, having played his junior football with the All Saints Toongabbie Tigers in the Parramatta local league.
But the Bulldogs quickly snapped up the fiery front-rower at age 15, adding to the lengthy list of Eels juniors now plying their trade for other clubs.
Blues No.7 Trent Hodkinson has been re-united with former NSW five-eighth Josh Reynolds in the halves, pushing rising star Moses Mbye to the bench.
“Moses, it’s been a big couple of weeks for him,” Hasler explained.
“And it’s really important that as a young player… he has that versatility role about him, (so he’s) one that we don’t really want to rush.”
Hasler also moved to praise this week’s opposition for keeping themselves in finals contention despite a season riddled with off-field controversies, including the Kieran Foran contract saga and the salary cap breaches that resulted in the third-heaviest fine in NRL history.
“They’ve been going very well. They’ve just been going along quietly,” he said of the Eels.
“They’ve overcome certain challenges, not so much on the field, but off the field.
“The playing group have stuck really close, which is good to see, and Brad’s got them playing well and with a bit of belief.”
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Been thinking similar things for a while, except with Graham on the bench and Tolman starting -- Tolman is good at blunting opposition attacks early, Graham was also especially effective off the bench when he played from there with his passing especially effective around slightly tired defenders.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
I think starting against Melbourne helped as well. Maybe that's something Des needs to look at, getting him on the field from the start so he can try and enforce his might then and there. Come in and give his best 20mins, then let Tolman take over. Got to be a better way to get that prop rotation working better. Graham and Tolman are too similar, so a power forward like Klemmer at the start could prove to be one of those things that sets a different tone to the game.
The Barry
Roar Guru
While Melbourne were under strength their forward pack that night contained four internationals including arguably the best prop and hooker in the world.
JayBob
Guest
Exactly Alex. To be at his level when only 21 while playing Prop is pretty amazing. We all know Props don't mature into their best until later in their careers. To put things into a little perspective, Taupau who is a new young Prop on the scene is 25. Even Dylan Napa is 22 and it seems like Klemmer's been around for a lot longer. Napa will turn 23 while Klemmer is 21, he's about 13 months older. I hope Des is right. He destroyed Melbourne after game 2 making 220m and carrying 3 defenders every run, I thought Origin had taken him to the next level. Then after the loss in game 3 he didn't look great against Brisbane. Hopefully his confidence hasn't taken too hard a hit and he was just tired.
Gonzo
Guest
The only thing Klemmer needs to make the leap from thug to brilliant is in top two inches. He's big, athletic and powerful. If he could harness these powers without resorting to BS or thuggery, he would silence all doubts about him.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
The thing people need to remember with Klemmer is despite his size, he's 21 years old, he's only going to get better if he keeps focussed on improving his game. Matt Scott was tried in Origin at a similar point in his career and didn't do well, got selected again a few years later and has been one of the best rep forwards since.
Jay C
Roar Guru
We'll find out this week won't we.