He’s aware of the debate - which has been one of the dominant storylinesaround the club over the last few months - but is adamant it hasn’t been a distraction.
That was shown with his performance in Saturday’s 34-4 win over the Rabbitohs in Sydney, which was an emphatic personal return, given his long injury layoff.
“I knew straight away, even when Roger signed, there were people wanting him to slot in at the back,” Nicoll-Klokstad told the Big League Podcast.
“It is warranted, what he has been able to do at fullback in our game is second to none. He is our first Dally M medallist [at the Warriors] and is just an elite fullback in his own right and I wasn’t oblivious to that, that’s just down to his accolades and his accomplishments.”
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was impressive in his return for the Warriors against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Photo / Photosport
It’s a typically frank admission from the 28-year-old, who said his internal belief never wavered, despite his huge respect for Tuivasa-Sheck, who was also the Warriors captain during Nicoll-Klokstad’s first stint at the club.
“I had to step back and look at what I have done as well, what I bring to the team, what value I bring and also just having a really good support base around me,” said Nicoll-Klokstad. “I’m not saying I needed a really good support base as in it was affecting me but I had my coach telling me, reassuring me, giving me the confidence that I needed.”
Andrew Webster has been unwavering in his public messaging, the coach saying that Nicoll-Klokstad was his man and not relenting, even when Tuivasa-Sheck rolled back the years as custodian in the round-four win over Newcastle.
Tuivasa-Sheck has also been supportive, making it clear publicly and privately that he wanted to play centre and wasn’t out to take the incumbent’s spot.
“It’s really good when you have people like Rog backing you to play fullback,” said Nicoll-Klokstad. “It’s something that goes a long way, to have someone like him say those kinds of things you feel a bit chuffed. [To have] people like him in your corner, my wife, Webby and the rest of the playing group.”
But it hasn’t been an easy pre-season, dealing with a complex hamstring injury, with a series of setbacks stalling his momentum.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad ran for more than 260m against the Rabbitohs. Photo / Photosport
“It was [about] trying to see why I was having those hammy problems and I just had to stop, reset and start to [rebuild] that foundation. Our rehab trainer did a really good job.”
It meant that Nicoll-Klokstad, who is one of the most fastidious trainers at the club, had to embark on his own personal pre-season in January.
“I had a full nine-week period of straight strengthening.”
All that work paid off on Saturday, as Nicoll-Klokstad had a return to remember. Despite taxing early afternoon conditions, around 30C with high humidity, he coped well physically, bringing his trademark high energy game.
Nicoll-Klokstad had 23 runs for 263 metres - sometimes with two carries in a set - and laid on two tries. Apart from an early miss for the first Rabbitohs try, he was also defensively sound and organised the line well.
It was testing - “there were a few periods where the lungs were blowing and the legs were a little bit gone” - but overall he felt good physically.
He also didn’t take long to get back into the groove, with the collective work from the Warriors’ spine probably the best so far this season, epitomised by the Warriors’ third try just before halftime, when Nicoll-Klokstad made a searing break through the ruck off Wayde Egan before sending Shaun Johnson away to score.
“I believe for a fullback, the most important relationship is with his hooker and I guess it is a relationship that Wayde and myself have been building for a long time,” said Nicoll-Klokstad. “There are a few other moving pieces as well, our forward pack did a really good job setting things like that up for us.”
There are work ons but Nicoll-Klokstad admitted he was stoked with his performance and the cohesion among the playmakers. He was also pleased with the team’s ability to outmuscle the Rabbitohs in the grind and then blow them away with slick execution.
“The result is the most important thing but moments in the game, the way we were able to control the game and get into our flow and game plan was pretty impressive,” said Nicoll-Klokstad. “We were able to take our opportunities, we defended well and we got into the grind with them and we were able to defensively win the game.”
It sets the Warriors up well as they prepare to face Manly on Saturday, with the Sea Eagles buoyant after upsetting Penrith.
“I feel like everything is starting to fall into place,” said Nicoll-Klokstad. “But we are not getting ahead of ourselves, it’s only round six next week.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has also reported on the Warriors and NRL for more than a decade.
