And in a sign of exactly how much the Canberra Raiders mean to the fullback he signed his release papers as quickly as possible to ensure he didn't become too emotional.

But with that now out of the way, Nicoll-Klokstad has his sights set on reclaiming the Raiders No.1 jersey and going out on a high - predicting Xavier Savage was on track to develop into one of the best fullbacks in the NRL.

The 26-year-old was contracted to the Green Machine for next year, but was granted a release from the final year of his contract to sign a three-year deal with the New Zealand Warriors.

That will bring him closer to his two sons, Rio and Kyrie, who live in Taupo - about three-and-a-half hours south of Auckland.

The pandemic has made it hard to see them and being apart even harder.

He was grateful for how accommodating the Raiders chief executive Don Furner and coach Ricky Stuart were in letting him return home.

"COVID definitely made things a lot harder ... when I went back last Christmas the first thing my oldest boy said to me was, 'I didn't think I was going to see you again, Daddy'," Nicoll-Klokstad said.

"That kills me man. It was a dream for me to play NRL and to be at a club like the Canberra Raiders and then the other half of me is a dad as well.

"Even signing the release papers I had to get in and get out because I was feeling a little bit emotional.

"What's happened at the club, what's happened while I've been here, the club obviously gave me my opportunity and I've made really good mates here - from top to bottom, from the playing group and the staff.

"But I'm really stoked to be heading home. I've got two boys back there that need their daddy. That's the priority for me.

"And I'm happy the Raiders were able to look at it from my point of view and allow me to go back home and join the Warriors next year."

With the weight of his future now off his shoulders, Nicoll-Klokstad will turn his sights to reclaiming his spot at fullback.

He played the final six minutes of Canberra's loss to St George Illawarra - his first game back from a hamstring injury he suffered six weeks earlier.

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Raiders young gun Xavier Savage has been the starting custodian in his absence.

But Nicoll-Klokstad was intent on impressing Stuart at training with a view to returning to the starting 13 to face the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne after the bye next Sunday.

"One hundred per cent. Xavier's doing a good job at the moment," he said.

"I've still got the rest of this year and I still want to be able to play fullback here at this club and do great things here.

"We're pushing for a spot in the eight and we want to finish the year strong.

"The boys are starting to put a few games together and I'm just excited to be able to get back amongst what they're doing."

Nicoll-Klokstad backed Savage to take over the fullback mantle in his absence.

He said it was a "scary" prospect for other NRL clubs because of the development the 20-year-old still had ahead of him.

Savage has already shown how damaging his speed can be during his 12-game career.

"He's shown glimpses of what he can bring to the game and what he can bring to the side," Nicoll-Klokstad said.

"There's still a lot of development in his game, which is a scary thing for the other teams as well - because he's got so much talent already and to think that he's still got a lot of development to do it's a good thing for him.

"Once he gets a bit of that development under his belt he's going to be a really top-ended fullback."

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