sport, raiders, rugby league, nrl, canberra raiders, charnze nicoll-klokstad, ricky stuart

A stunning start to the season has left the Canberra Raiders faithful gazing at stars but Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad says the next month will be their biggest test. Nicoll-Klokstad has been cleared of any structural damage in his knee leading into the Raiders' clash with Manly Warringah at Brookvale Oval on Sunday. Now it is a matter of managing the pain as the Raiders look to build on their best start to an NRL season since 2003. It is a start that has the fans believing again - the average home crowd attendance through four games is 14,467. That mark has the club on track to post their best return since 1995. The Raiders may be able to blow that figure out of the water when they cap off a bumper month against the South Sydney Rabbitohs on May 18, but they must continue their winning ways. Not just to give themselves a shot at shattering crowd records, but to give themselves the best chance of finishing at the pointy end of the table. The Sydney Roosters and Rabbitohs are on the horizon but Nicoll-Klokstad is refusing to look beyond the firing Sea Eagles as coach Ricky Stuart sends a clear message about where they stand. "Just be proud of what we're doing and where we've come, but acknowledge we've got a big month of footy coming up for us, and don't look too far ahead of ourselves," Nicoll-Klokstad said. "Every team is a tough team. We are playing the heavyweights of the competition in the next month, but any team on their day is a good team. It's just about worrying about what we can control, and that's what we do out on the paddock. "It's early days, I'm really proud of where the Canberra Raiders are heading and where we are heading as a group. We also understands it's only round six, and look at the ladder, everyone is a couple of wins away from being in the top eight." Nicoll-Klokstad holds no fears over playing on the infamous Brookvale Oval surface as he looks to continue his stunning rise that has him widely considered as one of the buys of the year. Nicoll-Klokstad rose from relative obscurity in New Zealand to seize his chance in Canberra - and the 23-year-old is confident there are more like him out there. "I'm a firm believer that there is a lot of players down in that reserve grade side that do have the ability to be great NRL players," Nicoll-Klokstad said. "It's just about getting that opportunity and I am lucky enough to get mine here. I'm still finding my feet as a player. "I'm just looking to build on what has already happened and hopefully only get better."

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