Patience pays off as Klemmer gets his finals wish

The plan was to get back to finals football as David Klemmer drove his family up the M1 Motorway to Newcastle at the end of 2018.

In October 2020 that plan will come to fruition.

"It's a big thing for the footy club, the town, as they haven't been there for a while," Klemmer told NRL.com after being part of the dominant 42-18 win over the Dragons on Sunday.

He registered the most metres (181) of anyone, made 22 tackles without a miss, and recorded 86 post-contact metres.

"Everyone has worked really hard and it's so good to see that pay off by getting the rewards now," Klemmer said.

"For me, I feel I've still got a bit to work on but I'm so very pleased to lock in a finals position."

Klemmer played in three finals campaigns (2014-16) with the Bulldogs before joining the Knights for the 2019 season.

After disappointing years at Belmore in 2017-18, his first with the Knights wasn't much better. They were on track mid-season after six wins on the trot but then faded fast with only two victories from their last nine matches to miss the eight.

After a change in coach with Adam O'Brien coming north from the Roosters, a tougher pre-season and some heart-to-heart conversations Klemmer says 2020 has seen the potential that the 2019 squad showed realised.

Everyone has worked really hard and it's so good to see that pay off

Knights prop David Klemmer

"We've just been more consistent this year. We've been finding our identity as a footy side.

"An example of that is when things don't go right in a game, we have a lot better attitude than last year. We're hanging in there," Klemmer said.

"The boys believe in themselves and their abilities a lot more too."

Klemmer has shown the way with regards to consistency. The only three games he missed in 2019 were to play Origin for the NSW Blues, and in 2020 he's been on the field every week, pumping out over 60 minutes as a prop.

He leads the NRL in post-contact metres ahead of Penrith's James Pisher-Harris and Brisbane's Payne Haas, while being second in offloads to Parramatta's Junior Paulo.

"I feel I've been consistent with my footy and my body has held up well. I do work hard on maintaining my body," Klemmer said.

Klemmer's leadership has helped off-set the disruption to hooker and five-eighth in particular in the Knights line-up through injuries.

"We've done well and Adz [O'Brien] pushes us hard to not let that get in our heads like last year – to not use it as an excuse.

"It's the next person in and they bring belief."

A win over the Titans on Friday at Cbus Stadium means a home final at McDonald Jones Stadium for the first time since 2006.