DAVID Klemmer's former international teammate Corey Parker has expressed dismay that the Newcastle Knights prop has been dropped for refusing to come off the field.
Klemmer was left out of Newcastle's side on Tuesday for their clash with Wests Tigers this week after being issued a show-cause notice for reportedly failing to come from the field late in the Knights' 24-10 loss to the Bulldogs at the weekend.
Klemmer is alleged to have sprayed club trainer Hayden Knowles and stayed on the field for a couple of minutes before ultimately running off.
"I played 16 years and every time I was asked to come off, I was reluctant," former Broncos forward turned Fox League pundit Corey Parker said on Tuesday night.
"To the point where I would say to the trainer a few expletives to let him know I didn't want to come off."
Parker played three Tests with Klemmer for Australia at the back end of his career before retiring in 2016.
He was bewildered Klemmer had been dropped for the incident.
"[Klemmer] is the alpha male of that club.
"We're playing a game of rugby league, he is a front rower of a football side that's just going to bow and run off?
"I played with Klem, I played against Klem, he is a tough, uncompromising, resilient front-rower."
Klemmer's former Canterbury Bulldogs teammate James Graham thought there was more to the situation but said he had witnessed similar incidents playing alongside the 28-year-old enforcer.
"He has very high expectations of himself and takes pride in his performance," Graham said.
"He can be one of those guys that is very reluctant to leave the field.
"[It was] against his old club as well, so I can understand why he might want to have stayed out there."
The Knights issued a statement late Tuesday saying they wouldn't be commenting until Klemmer's disciplinary hearing was completed.
"The nib Newcastle Knights have issued David Klemmer with a show cause notice relating to on field disciplinary matters in last Sunday's match against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs," the statement said.
"No further correspondence will be entered into until the show cause hearing process has been completed."
Klemmer's omission from the side came barely 24 hours after it emerged Parramatta wanted to sign him.
The show-cause notice is believed to be unrelated to that situation.
Klemmer has been contacted for comment.
