Exciting Canterbury prop David Klemmer is vowing not to curb his aggressive nature following his bust-up with Sydney Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves last Friday.
Klemmer was fortunate to avoid sanction by the NRL match review committee after being placed on report for charging at the Kiwi front-rower with his foot up in the Bulldogs' recent defeat by the premiers.
The incident led to players from both sides pushing and shoving and the 20-year-old being placed on report, although no action was taken by the match review committee.
"It was my first encounter with one of the top front-rowers and I enjoyed it, it was good," Klemmer said of the incident.
"Des didn't say much, but the boys were all pumped. I was just trying to change up the game.
"Once I started I knew I couldn't back down and had to go through with it - I loved it.
"Mick Ennis has always said to me `never take a backward step' and I will use that for the rest of my career."
Weighing in at 117kg and measuring 192cm, Klemmer has been used in short bursts off the bench by Bulldogs coach Des Hasler, who will unleash him on his former side Manly at Brookvale on Friday.
But such is the high regard he's held in by the club he was handed a million dollar deal over three years before he'd made his NRL debut, and NSW front-rower Aaron Woods has tipped Klemmer to be the become the No.1 prop in the game.
"He's a good kid, Dave," Woods said. "I didn't know him too well until I played City Origin with him and now he's one of my best mates. He's a legend.
"He's always the laugh of the party, there's never a dull moment around him, and I love the way he backs himself for a young fella."
Woods made no secret of his efforts to unsettle South Sydney's Burgess brothers in Wests Tigers' shock win over the Rabbitohs in round three this year and has urged Klemmer to continue trying to get under opponents' skin.
"I thought it was awesome the way he took on Hargreaves," he said.
"He's a young front-rower and he doesn't want to cop anything from his opponents and wants to lay down a marker for the Dogs.
"It's the way he plays - he'll take any front-rower on and if he had the chance he'd take all four on.
"He has a massive future. I think he's going to be one of the game's superstars in the coming years.
"He'll be the leader of their pack very soon."
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