Newcastle Knights prop David Klemmer on his week in exile and why he knocked back the Parramatta Eels

It's obviously been well-documented that it was a tough few days for my family and I, as well as the club.

It's probably best I don't say too much about it all because we're all trying to move forward, but the main thing is we've worked through it.

The club took ownership on my part for the on-field incident and that's where I want to leave it.

But I can't thank the boys and everyone, really, enough for all their support.

There was a lot of shots coming at the club during the week, and what the boys did around training and what they did in the game on the weekend, it was inspiring.

It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. After the week we had, I was so pleased for everyone to get a bit of relief.

We've had a roller-coaster of a year and I didn't make it any better, so to see the boys rally around each other and call meetings, have a voice and our backs against the walls, I was just so proud of them. I can't praise them enough for what they did.

I obviously had the big meeting on Friday and then got told I could go back to training with the boys.

I ran into my locker and took my suit off, put my boots and everything on, warmed up really quickly and got out there for the last half-hour.

It was pretty emotional.

I got out there and all the boys stopped and came over.

The first couple of days I had away from them were a bit of an unknown, so getting back out there and having all the boys getting around me - they made my week.

It was pretty special and something I'll never forget.

It was also mentioned last week that I might have been headed to Parramatta. When that got thrown around, I declined that straight away.

The year we've had, I didn't want to go out like that.

I love this footy club and I thought I've got to stick solid with the boys. I didn't want to run away from it. I want to finish the season off strong.

I said I didn't want to do it and it was the best thing for my family and I not to.

I just want to keep playing for Newcastle. I've sat down with Adam and by all reports, he wants me here next year.

I can't control what's being said behind closed doors, but everything that has come back to me is that I'm still at the footy club in 2023.

I'm happy, I really like playing and living up here. I think I've given everything I have for this side and I'm just trying to repay them. They've changed my life. My main focus is to stay as long as I can here and play good footy.

But enough about me, we've got Jayden Brailey celebrating his 100th game on Saturday night. It's a big milestone given he has been through hell and back with injuries the past few years.

He is a special bloke in the playing group, we call him 'The Sheriff', so we really want to make sure we get a win for him up in Brisbane.

He deserves it.

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