Nicoll-Klokstad ready for grand final rematch

As a team, Canberra spoke about last year’s decider for 10 minutes during pre-season before moving on to 2020.

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad could not get last year’s grand final loss out of his head for months Picture: John McCutcheon

As a team, Canberra spoke about last year’s decider for 10 minutes during pre-season before moving on to 2020, but for the likes of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad the pain wasn’t so easy to leave behind.

With Canberra gearing up for the grand final rematch against the Sydney Roosters on Thursday night, Nicoll-Klokstad has revealed how he dwelt on the 14-8 loss for months.

“It stuck with me for ages. For a long time I thought about it,” Nicoll-Klokstad said.

“I’d be going to sleep and I’d be thinking I had a few key moments I could have done a bit better.”

If any Raider could be proud of their efforts in defeat it was Nicoll-Klokstad. He churned through more run metres (219), had more carries (21) and broke more tackles (eight) than any other player on the field.

Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

He was subbed off with 10 minutes to go because his body was cramping up and starting to shut down. There was nothing else he could have given and there couldn’t be a Raiders fan alive who wasn’t proud of him.

But Nicoll-Klokstad, who fought his way to that grand final from the depths of NRL purgatory on shear force of will, was consumed by two moments he felt cost his team dearly in their quest for their first title in 25 years.

“There was the (Sam) Verrills try and the dropped ball at the end of the second half. I missed my job there,” Nicoll-Klokstad said.

“It cut me up a little bit. But I’m over it now, but you’ll only ever get right over it when you win one.”

In the pre-season, the Raiders came together and watched bits of the game — not the whole thing, that would be too much, just a few clips here and there.

“We said it’s going to hurt to watch this stuff, but we have to take the learnings out of this game cause we if found ourselves in that position again we want to do better,” Nicoll-Klokstad said.

“There were five clips, the little moments. When Siua (Taukeiaho) broke the line, things we could have done better in defence, stuff like that. It wasn’t big stuff, but big games like that consist of little moments and we missed the opportunities and that’s it.”

Each of the Raiders dealt with the defeat in their own way. Skipper Jarrod Croker said he won’t watch it again until Canberra goes one better.

Star five-eighth Jack Wighton, who has had so many ups and downs in his career and learned not to put too much stock in either one, was more philosophical.

“Once it was done it was done,” Wighton said.

“A lot of people have tried to change the past and it just doesn’t work.

“All you can do is get back on the horse.”

John Bateman, who is one of a host of key Canberra men who will miss the rematch and is Wigan-bound at season’s end, couldn’t stop watching the game.

“I’ve watched it three times. And I watched the (Fox League special) where the Roosters watched it,” Bateman said.

“I watched it cause it annoys me, it makes me want to come back and be better and go one step further. You’re always learning, you never stop learning.

“You can’t sit on the fact that we got there, and we did this and we had a fantastic year. That’s a load of rubbish, that’s a load of crap.”

The Raiders were given a boost on Wednesday when the NRL gave the club permission to fly in and out, instead of travelling by bus, for the match on Thursday

The Daily Telegraph