Stefano Utoikamanu #241

[coivtny]

I'm not at all unhappy. I don't rate him as a top tier prop and our offer was way over for the ability he's displayed this year. We won't play him in KOE because that will make us look childish and vengeful, but I hope we use him in a way that maximises the development of our remaining props. If that means we play him less minutes or more minutes or play him coming off the bench rather than starting, then so be it. He's given up the right to be treated as our top prop.
My concern is the deafening silence about who replaces him. This year we've lost Stefano, Paps, Joe O and Bateman, all representative players without one replacement. You can't do that.
I'm a Richo fan but I'm starting to lose faith. We don't have the forward quality within the club. We need to buy four quality forwards plus some quality backs. Despite what Richo says, they are just not around and, even if they were, we have to compete with all the other clubs to get them.

 

[Buttface]

Let him go now and save the cap $$$?
I’d pick him for this week and in the sheds right before we run out I’d stop everyone and ask Stef “so now you’ve signed elsewhere are you gunna finally have a go and support your current teammates? Or should I play one of the kids you’re supposed to lead?
Actually maybe that question should be asked this morning.

 

[mtd#2]

Stef is within the four-walls.

Luai, while I love his attitude, has no idea what's to come.

Stef is also a softly spoken 110kg pillow. He isn't a leader. He isn't going to yell at people and tell them what to do.
Stef is like joe biden.

 

[enuff]

I'm torn.
When Stef rips in, he is a wrecking ball. This whole contract saga has seen his form dip so much. We can all see the potential he has and if he isn't willing to do it with this squad with Luai and Sunia coming and all the young kids we have coming through, then it looks as though he wants the easy way out.

A war chest with no one available is the sad part...

 

[Buttface]

The sharks mill for AFB is looking pretty good right now.

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

great news, Woods 2.0
one of the great pretenders I a tough position.
Not a big loss

 

[mtd#2]

The sharks mill for AFB is looking pretty good right now.

I guess we thought Stef would stay put.
But 100%, would have been ideal/

 

[Vicious]

I blame all this on Richo , he came here as the big white hope and what have got bugger all . And here’s why we told blore he was free to leave because of his injured pass , SO what do we do trade him for a one legged centre , so who came out on top from that deal RICHO
We then tell papa he can go too , if I am stepho I would thinking things are going south .
Then we realise Bateman , for me that would be the straw which broke the camels back .
This part I have no idea if it happened, but if I was CEO , before letting everyone walk I would have called a meeting and invited our new half back to speak about how changes next year will bring a different outcome. I would have laid out who we were chasing to strengthen the side , little things came make a big difference.
But all Richo and benji have done is weaken the team , I think him leaving will tigger a landslide of players wanting out

I agree.
They got played with the Blore/Olam swap and releasing Papali’i when there is no suitable replacements available in the back row was insane.
I can understand trying to offload Bateman as he doesn’t have any impact like an edge back rower should, so is no loss.

 

[Wiz]

Sometimes it’s good for punters to get a vent out. Who could ever forget the “Tedesco a cock and Woods is a Dog” signs 😂

They were the best. I still laugh at the thought of them.

 

[Kelce68]

the problem is Sione isnt punching the line, he's getting the ball standing still most of the time.

He's also played 9 first grade games, is playing in a poorly organised side and is a footwork-first middle, who both often beats his first man and has a tendency to open offload opportunities.

 

[BalmainJnr]

Another in a long list of players that have talked about wanting to be a ‘leader’ and help bring success to the club only to run for the first exit because it is too hard

Hopefully he finishes his career with WT in KOE.

 

[Kaito]

Stef is also a softly spoken 110kg pillow. He isn't a leader. He isn't going to yell at people and tell them what to do.
Stef is like joe biden.

He's a cat. His signature move is finding hookers
And halfbacks in the D-line and running at them.

 

[guywolf]

Good riddance to the guy honestly, his heart clearly hasn't been with the club for a while now. Absolutely laughable that this guy sees himself as a leader.

I sincerely hope this move backfires and the team he joins misses finals next year.

 

[Wiz]

I am indifferent to his departure.

The bigger issues are:
1. Why we can’t develop any players.
2. We will need to overpay for Stef’s replacement(s) anyway.
3. Due to point 2 above you can discount our “war chest” by about 40%.

Thus, the cycle continues.

 

[Spartan117]

In my heart I'm a little Upset

My heart is happy as he isn't the 800K prop

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

In my heart I'm a little Upset

My heart is happy as he isn't the 800K prop

Sums it up for me. He leaves a hole but he isn’t a 800k prop nor a forward leader. He has always played his best as a 1-2 combo forward.

Nervous about who we get next though

 

[king_sirro]

Good. Pea heart.

The Dogs are showing you don't need players like Softano to win games, you need super fit, hungry and aggressive players as a whole.

It's now on us to put players in place that have the required desire to put in 100% every week. How we do that I don't know.

 

[tig_prmz]

Jumping ship when the going is tough...

Textbook cat behaviour.

I don't understand this argument. He had a clause in his contract and he activated it. He obviously played very well up until the last couple of months where the contract negotations seemed to weigh him down.

I never really rated him that high but he must not have played too bad until last year since he made Origin ahead of some seasoned professionals.

He was what Sione Fainu is for us this year, but the going has been tough for a while, this will be his 3rd spoon in a row.

I raised this earlier that he may be comparing himself to his peers who he may have owned but they are playing Finals and he's not. It must burn him.

He won't be the first or the last who was good before he came and will be good after he leaves. We failed him to an extent as well. We needed him to be a leader because guys like Klemmer, Bateman, Papali'i didn't do their job. The club didn't do its job of hiring the coaches to help him out.

I think Stefano did his job most games that he was here. I don't begrudge him in the same vain as Cleary, Moses, Aloiai, Matterson etc like the people here. In fact, I don't begrudge him at all.

He's been the shining light is 2 disastrous seasons for us. I wish him well.

 

[pirie]

He's a cat. His signature move is finding hookers
And halfbacks in the D-line and running at them.

That makes afb a cat to for running at latu?

 

[Roar_Power]

Well they signed Luai on the back of Benji becoming the coach...
So maybe it'll take till 2025 for the playing group to start taking that attitude.

Am I correct in saying that Bennet is Marshall's mentor?
He might help him bring Tevita Pangai this way (Souths wont be able to fork out as much as us).

Pretty sure a $6m contract also helped...