The Newcastle Knights' may be all but locked into the NRL finals, but they will have to spend next week without David Klemmer unless he can convince the judiciary otherwise.
Klemmer was charged with a Grade 1 contrary conduct offence in Saturday night's tight, unconvincing victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs.
The offence was committed against the similarly charged Luke Thompson, who could miss the remainder of the season for a crusher tackle from last night's game.
The base penalty for Klemmer's charge is 100 points, however, with one prior similar offence, and two prior non-similar offences to his name in the last 24 months, as well as a total of 55 carry over points, it means Klemmer will face a two-week ban should he fight the charge and lose at the NRL judiciary.
Klemmer has been struggling to break into a permanent role in the Newcastle starting 13 this season, however, started and played big minutes last night with Daniel Saifiti injured.
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He played 64 minutes in the game, and has been a bruising impact for the Knights time and time again, despite coming from the bench for much of the season.
Rumours have been abound that Klemmer will look for an exit from the Hunter with the Saifiti brothers both signed long-term.
While he may well depart at the end of the season, the Knights are now inside the top eight by four points with just two weeks to play.
With finals almost guaranteed, the experience of Klemmer will prove vital.
Unless Klemmer fights at the judiciary and wins, he will miss next week's Thursday night encounter with the Gold Coast Titans on a five-day turnaround, before returning to face the Brisbane Broncos in Round 25 ahead of the finals.
