Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad maintains he would never deliberately seek penalties, despite a high shot from Alex Seyfarth that allowed the Warriors to edge out Wests Tigers.
On a night when Tigers coach Benji Marshall expressed frustration with the referees, one decision proved decisive. With the score tied at 24-all and less than eight minutes remaining, Seyfarth, a Tigers second-rower, knocked Nicoll-Klokstad to the ground while the Warriors were on the attack. The fullback was visibly shaken and required attention from a trainer, with replays confirming Seyfarth’s shoulder made contact with Nicoll-Klokstad’s chin.
“It was an accident,” Nicoll-Klokstad told AAP. “I was bracing for impact, and because he’s quite tall, I ended up meeting his shoulder.”
Seyfarth was placed on report, and the resulting penalty put Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf in position to land a match-winning 40-meter field goal. The Campbelltown crowd jeered Nicoll-Klokstad afterward, seemingly accusing him of exaggerating the contact to secure the game-changing penalty.
“I didn’t even notice,” Nicoll-Klokstad said following the Warriors’ 26-24 victory. “You don’t want to be diving for penalties. That’s not part of our game. You don’t want to be taking dives.”
Nicoll-Klokstad pointed out that the referees had warned the Tigers about similar high shots earlier in the match. Tigers recruit Jarome Luai had already been placed on report for making shoulder contact with the head of Warriors winger Ed Kosi, who required a head injury assessment as a result.
“Kosi was hit in pretty much the same way. When it’s that clear, it’s a penalty,” Nicoll-Klokstad said. “If it’s illegal, it’s illegal.”
Despite Luai’s high shot, Warriors coach Andrew Webster refrained from commenting on whether the Tigers co-captain should have been sent to the sin bin.
“When I saw it live, Ed’s head jolted, and it was clear he needed to leave the field,” Webster said. “That’s the frustrating part. I’m not critical of Jarome — these things happen in football — but the frustration comes when you keep losing players, and the opposition maintains their full formation.”
The Warriors head into their round-five bye on a three-game winning streak, a remarkable turnaround after their opening-round defeat by Canberra in Las Vegas. Nicoll-Klokstad plans to use the break to spend quality time with his young family.
“It’s really encouraging to go into the bye with a win,” he said. “We didn’t look like ourselves in Vegas, but it’s been exciting to see that when we play our game, we get results.”
