Why was dave Klemmer such a big thing?

[Vee]

Was he better back in the day?
Or was it just a bald thing?

 

[Marshall_magic]

He’s a little over the hill now, he was half decent back then, but always thrived off a misplaced reputation as a big badass enforcer.

Kind of like Corey Horsbugh.

 

[Bazal]

Tbh on his day he was a weapon. Bit of a fake tough guy but he genuinely could sit dudes down too. If anything he's gotten way faker and more mental as he's faded.

Mad merkins who play like that tend to be hit and miss players and he definitely has been all his career, and now he clearly doesn't have the impact he did as a young bloke. But there was a very good prop there when it all came together. The Dogs got the best of him from memory, maybe the first bit at the Knights?

 

[Billythekid]

Because he was pretty f**ken good at his best. He’s peak didn’t last that long but we was really good for a while there.

 

[mxlegend99]

Big body that played tough and had a great work rate. Hes obviously at the back end of his career now.

But he was a genuinely elite front rower at his peak.

 

[Munky]

To answer the question in the thread title:

Genes.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

It is a bit staggering now to look back and see that he played 19 tests and 14 Origins but played his last rep match at age 25. Hard to argue that he wasn’t one of the top props in the game from about 2015-2019 based on that, but he certainly dropped away at a weirdly young age. Not sure if it’s injuries or he’s just one of those guys who peaked physically very young. He was never exactly an athletic prop but he’s huge and he used to hit the line hard and have good go-forward. He just seems to have lost the speed/explosiveness to be effective.

 

[Bazal]

Also worth noting, the Corey Parker respect thing involved Klemdog so we have him to thank for a great meme.

Origin debut at age 21, Parker told Klemmer to show some respect and he said something like f**k off merkin in reply. Which is the only appropriate response

 

[Vic Mackey]

Props as a whole generally only have 4-5 really good years, its too demanding phyiscally to be able to keep it up. Its why Ive always thought these big money long term deals are ridiculous. A couple of years back Josh Papalli was considered the best prop in the game, now he woldnt be top 20. Id say only JWH has been able to keep it up for a decade.

Klemmer and Woods being the mainstay starting props for NSW and Aus for a number of years is wild when you think about it.

TBF I thought Klem was ok last year, he was generally racking up 150ms a game. This year though hes been horrendous.

 

[Canard]

He reminds me of Mark O'Meley, looked like the most dominant prop in the game at a young age, and then just fell off.

Tamou never played a rep game after 2016, after racking up 14 Origins and 12 Tests. (But that was probably more injuries, in his case)

 

[macavity]

Klemmer slimmed down and tried to be a stat prop instead of an impact prop. It really blunted him.

He does/did punch out good stats but has bugger all impact on games.

We all rate the props who impact games, and it’s a very rare one who does both (Haas… and that’s about it).

 

[gerg]

Props as a whole generally only have 4-5 really good years, its too demanding phyiscally to be able to keep it up. Its why Ive always thought these big money long term deals are ridiculous. A couple of years back Josh Papalli was considered the best prop in the game, now he woldnt be top 20. Id say only JWH has been able to keep it up for a decade.

Klemmer and Woods being the mainstay starting props for NSW and Aus for a number of years is wild when you think about it.

TBF I thought Klem was ok last year, he was generally racking up 150ms a game. This year though hes been horrendous.

People seem to forget that Papalii was one of the best second rowers in the game before switching to prop. He has been rep level for a decade and not the name to put forward when talking down long term deals.

 

[Marshall_magic]

He reminds me of Mark O'Meley, looked like the most dominant prop in the game at a young age, and then just fell off.

Tamou never played a rep game after 2016, after racking up 14 Origins and 12 Tests. (But that was probably more injuries, in his case)

Could add Woods to that category, left the Tigers at the end of 2017 when he was 26, and one could argue his best years were behind him at that stage.

 

[Apey]

It is a bit staggering now to look back and see that he played 19 tests and 14 Origins but played his last rep match at age 25. Hard to argue that he wasn’t one of the top props in the game from about 2015-2019 based on that, but he certainly dropped away at a weirdly young age. Not sure if it’s injuries or he’s just one of those guys who peaked physically very young. He was never exactly an athletic prop but he’s huge and he used to hit the line hard and have good go-forward. He just seems to have lost the speed/explosiveness to be effective.

Props as a whole generally only have 4-5 really good years, its too demanding phyiscally to be able to keep it up. Its why Ive always thought these big money long term deals are ridiculous. A couple of years back Josh Papalli was considered the best prop in the game, now he woldnt be top 20. Id say only JWH has been able to keep it up for a decade.

Klemmer and Woods being the mainstay starting props for NSW and Aus for a number of years is wild when you think about it.

TBF I thought Klem was ok last year, he was generally racking up 150ms a game. This year though hes been horrendous.

Manu mentioning 2015 - 2019 is no coincidence. He's a victim of the 6 again rule change of which there are a few. The game has got faster, he has got slower. He is a lumbering slowpoke now compared to modern day props.

He was a great front rower at his peak.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Why was dave Klemmer such a big thing?

He ate all of his vegetables

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

All of this chat actually highlights imo how good AFB is. He's a 120kg+ prop who is getting into the veteran category, only 2 years younger than Klemmer but (aside from attitude worries) has not slowed down at all in the 6-again era.

 

[Chins get the wins]

All of this chat actually highlights imo how good AFB is. He's a 120kg+ prop who is getting into the veteran category, only 2 years younger than Klemmer but (aside from attitude worries) has not slowed down at all in the 6-again era.

Not a team player

 

[Mojo]

His Mum asked the same question when he was born.

 

[aqua_duck]

I watched Klemmer in juniors/schoolboys and believe me he was an absolute weapon, he was pretty much 6’6 and 110kg when he was 15-16 and unlike most big kids that age actually had a decent engine and loved the rough stuff.
The 6 again rule and just the increased emphasis on finding your front, quick ptb and the importance of late footwork really spelled the end for props like him

 

[King hit]

Also worth noting, the Corey Parker respect thing involved Klemdog so we have him to thank for a great meme.

Origin debut at age 21, Parker told Klemmer to show some respect and he said something like f**k off merkin in reply. Which is the only appropriate response

Get f**ked c-unt was the reply. Parker devoting a chapter in his lame autobiography to crying about it is classic.