Ofahiki Ogden’s calming halftime advice from the unlikeliest source
IT’S the blossoming relationship between a fiery enforcer and a youngster who likes to smash blokes. Could this duo become Canterbury’s newest bash brothers?
IT’S the blossoming relationship between a fiery enforcer and a rookie who likes to smash blokes.
Could David Klemmer and Ofahiki Ogden become Canterbury’s newest bash brothers?
Rising forward Ogden told The Daily Telegraph about a quiet exchange between the two at halftime during Thursday night’s game against Brisbane, giving an insight into their budding bond.
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“Coming off the bench, especially in the first half, I thought I was trying to do too much and when I went into the changing rooms for the second half Klemmer had a chat with me,” Ogden said.
“He told me to just worry about what I have to do.
“Do my little bit for the team and I thought I came out in the second half and played a lot better after that.”
Klemmer’s advice was simple but effective, Ogden was only used by coach Dean Pay for around 20 minutes on Thursday night but he ran for an impressive 80 metres in that time.
“His advice to me was to do what I do best, run as hard as I could and tackle, that all I have to do is my bit and that will help everyone else. I was a bit too pumped, I needed to calm down and play my game.”
The Mangere East Hawks junior says he has a particularly close friendship with teammate Greg Eastwood and looks to him as a mentor type figure.
But with Eastwood looking for another club for 2019, Ogden says Klemmer has taken him under his wing in more recent times.
“He was my roomy when I first debuted this year [against the Knights] and my relationship with Klem is getting better each week. He’s someone I can turn too,” he said.
The Blues forward missed Thursday’s match after he was slapped with a suspension for making dangerous contact former teammate Moses Mbye against the Tigers.
Without Klemmer, the Bulldogs were hardly rated a chance against a Broncos side vying for a spot in the top four finish.
But Ogden says knocking off the Tigers the week before had instilled a renewed sense of belief in his side
“We didn’t look at it in the way, they we didn’t have a chance. We knew we had been playing some good footy, getting the win the week before gave us the confidence we needed to into the Broncos game. Even if we didn’t have Klemmer, we knew we still had a strong team,” he said.
He also revealed Pay had reinforced the importance of the entire team lifting in the absence of Klemmer and the Dogs pack did exactly that, running over their more fancied opposition through the middle.
“Dean was talking about stepping up, not just the forwards but everyone stepping up really and that everyone needed to improve on last week’s performance,” he said.
Playmaker Jeremy Marshall-King was a late withdrawal on Thursday night after coming down with a virus the day before the match but will line-up against Manly this weekend.
Klemmer return to the starting side after serving his one match ban with Danny Fualalo returning to the bench.
Forward Clay Priest, who is struggling with an elbow injury, wasn’t named.
Originally published as Ofahiki Ogden’s calming halftime advice from the unlikeliest source