He's the NSW player Queenslander's love to hate, but David Klemmer has been bowled over by the man who built the modern-day Maroons dynasty, Mal Meninga.
The giant Canterbury enforcer has usurped outgoing Blues skipper Paul Gallen as public enemy No.1 north of the Tweed following his on-field bust-up with Corey Parker during this year's State of Origin series.
The 22-year-old earned his spot in Meninga's Kangaroos Four Nations squad after impressing in the PM's XIII side he coached against PNG in September and Klemmer admits to feeling some trepidation when they first met.
"I was a bit scared of him to be honest," Klemmer told AAP.
"I really didn't know what to expect. But I've never experienced a coach like him. He has real aura about him and the way he carries himself.
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"He's about looking after his players and made a point of sitting down with me to get to know me better on the tour and I've really enjoyed and respected that.
"I have to say having seen him in close quarters and getting to know him I can see why Queensland have been so successful."
He also said there he's fitted in perfectly with the Queensland players he was going toe-to-toe with in a feisty game three of Origin in July.
"They're all great, Cam Smith, JT, Sammy (Thaiday), JT... legends of the game," he said.
"It's an honour to call them teammates."
Klemmer's almost certain to keep his spot on the bench for the clash with New Zealand in Coventry on Saturday after a strong showing against the Scots and in Perth against the Kiwis.
With Jason Taumalolo and Klemmer's former Bulldogs teammate Martin Taupau in outstanding form against England last weekend, he knows the world's No.1 ranked side will present a much stiffer challenge.
"Our next two matches against NZ and England are going to be much harder," he said.
"The Scottish boys were physical but with Marty and Taumalolo plus the likes of Jesse Bromwich in their side it's going to be a real tough.
"But these are the games you want to play in."
