Klemmer and Saifiti carve their own slice of Knights Origin history
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Newcastle can always be relied upon for producing good front-row stock.
The Knights have provided their fair share of NSW Origin hard-nosed forwards ready to run the ball straight up the middle and skittle Maroons.
Players like Mark Sargent, who made his State of Origin debut in 1990, Paul Harragon (1992), Tony Butterfield (1998), Steve Simpson (2002), Josh Perry (2003), and Ben Cross (2008) have left their mark.
But no two Knights props have played in the same Origin game for NSW – until now.
David Klemmer and Daniel Saifiti are re-establishing the Knights' good name after a lengthy drought for the men in red and blue due to poor on-field results in the NRL.
Simpson and Cross played in the 2008 State of Origin series but not in the same match: Cross was part of games one and three, while Simpson was in game two only.
It's now a little piece of club history that Klemmer and Saifit will share.
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"It's going to be great. I’m that excited and happy to be pulling the jersey on with the big boy anyway," Klemmer told NRL.com.
"He's done extremely well to get where he's at – and now you're telling me we're making a little history together. That makes it even more special between me and Daniel.
"It's not something we'll talk about much until we get the job done, but that's going to be a nice memory to have for the two of us.
"After the series is over, we'll sit down and reminisce about that."
Klemmer said props also like familiarity between them for big games, just like halves do in their communication.
"It does help quite a bit. We're both very confident in the way we play and we know what each other likes. Playing with Daniel week-in and week-out means I know what he's about – the lines he likes to run."
Klemmer doesn't mind admitting he's even more excited about game three in Sydney next Wednesday than he was for game one in Brisbane.
"Losing that game, then hurting my hand and missing out on game two, it was pretty gut-wrenching.
"So I'm pretty excited to get this chance to get out there and play some footy. I didn’t think I could be up more than I was for game one – but I am."
