Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad took a pay cut, that dropped him close to the NRL minimum wage, to join Canberra this season but the risk has paid huge dividends.
Nicoll-Klokstad didn’t play a single game for the Warriors last season and joined the Raiders in February after they promised him game time, but on below his wage in New Zealand.
It has proven a remarkable year for the fullback, scoring 11 tries in 25 games, and he’ll play in the NRL grand final against Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
Canberra recruitment boss Peter Mulholland admits they expected to get “half a dozen games” out of Nicoll-Klokstad when he arrived two months into the preseason as injury cover for Jordan Rapana.
But he started round one at fullback and flourished almost immediately, which allowed Jack Wighton to stick with his switch to five-eighth in a move that transformed the Raiders’ season.
The NRL minimum wage in 2019 is $105,000 which was close to Nicoll-Klokstad’s salary in Canberra before his breakout season earned him a three-year extension worth $1.5 million.
“I did take a pay cut and I was willing to take even more of a pay cut for an opportunity,” Nicoll-Klokstad told AAP.
“Money is nothing. You’re chasing a dream, you’re not chasing money. Money was never a factor.
“I found out they were interested on the Tuesday and was in Canberra the following Friday, there was no hesitation.
“I can still remember it like yesterday, coming in at the start of the season and meeting the boys and training the next day, to now being in a grand final – it’s crazy.”
Nicoll-Klokstad admits he never thought as a skinny teenager who moved to Australia for a better life in 2010 would ever play on rugby league’s biggest stage.
The 24-year-old is one of nine kids and said times were tough growing up in New Zealand after his mum was sent to prison for eight years in 2009.
Nicoll-Klokstad’s father moved the family to Melbourne for a fresh start and the new surroundings ignited his professional rugby league dream.
He played juniors at the Melbourne Storm and then signed with the Warriors but played just seven NRL games in two seasons, before arriving in Canberra.
“We were struggling back home when I was younger and my oldest brother just booked our tickets because he knew it was a bit easier over here,” Nicoll-Klokstad said.
“It became an opportunity for me and my younger brother to try and progress through footy. It was never really about footy but it sort of happened that way and now I’m here.
“It’s always a kid’s dream to play an NRL grand final. I never thought I’d ever actually be here though.
“I backed myself to try and play some first grade but it’s just crazy talking about a grand final, I still can’t believe I’m here.”
