David Klemmer has come clean on his 2022 season after swapping a football for a keyboard, opening up in a tell-all piece the prop forward penned for the Newcastle Herald.
Klemmer will return to the Newcastle Knights lineup this weekend after missing last week through a club-imposed suspension for an on-field clash with trainer Hayden Knowles, and appears eager to make up for the time he missed.
Exiled for the early part of the week, Klemmer details how special it was to re-join the playing group, and be accepted back with open arms.
"I obviously had the big meeting on Friday and then got told I could go back to training with the boys," Klemmer writes in the Newcastle Herald.
"I ran into my locker and took my suit off, put my boots and everything on, warmed up really quickly and got out there for the last half-hour. It was pretty emotional.
"I got out there and all the boys stopped and came over.
"The first couple of days I had away from them were a bit of an unknown, so getting back out there and having all the boys getting around me - they made my week.
"It was pretty special and something I'll never forget."
The middle forward kept it short when addressing the rumours that swirled over a mid-season move to Parramatta, a transfer that 'Klem' had no interest in.
"It was also mentioned last week that I might have been headed to Parramatta. When that got thrown around, I declined that straight away. The year we've had, I didn't want to go out like that," he said.
"I love this footy club and I thought I've got to stick solid with the boys. I didn't want to run away from it. I want to finish the season off strong.
"I said I didn't want to do it and it was the best thing for my family and I not to."
Committed to remaining with the club, Klemmer recently sold his Eleebana home and purchased an upgraded abode in Warners Bay, signalling his decision to stay local and continue leading the charge for the Knights.
