Stefano Utoikamanu #241

Spartan117 said:
Agree,
Very surprised to Se Stef in the side.

He will need to amp up the Agro a fair bit to make it to game three
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I thought he showed some improvement in his game the first time he went into Origin camp, maybe his club game will lift again after a game.
 
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BAGNF05 said:
I am happy for him but as a Blues supporter, has he played that well yet? Not sure.

Just hoping the experience is a big confidence boost.
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I’m with you on this one, congratulations for Stef but at this point is he in the top 4 front rowers for NSW ?
I hope the experience works and we get a huge benefit from this in the long run. 🤞
 
innsaneink said:
There's no way in hell he's been playing origin standard footy.... This is Freddy doing a sheens' "always next year"
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Steph has played all 13 games for us this year, one of only four players to do so in the pack.
He has averaged 44 minutes per week, producing 12 runs at 114m per game. He is averaging 27 tackles per game at 93.36% efficiency.
Klemmer is producing better run meter numbers, but he is playing on average 7 minutes more per game.
Steph has surprised me this year. I thought he was just cruising along last year, but this season he has really been digging in. If NSW can squeeze an extra few percent out of him, he will go well.
 
Tucker said:
Steph has played all 13 games for us this year, one of only four players to do so in the pack.
He has averaged 44 minutes per week, producing 12 runs at 114m per game. He is averaging 27 tackles per game at 93.36% efficiency.
Klemmer is producing better run meter numbers, but he is playing on average 7 minutes more per game.
Steph has surprised me this year. I thought he was just cruising along last year, but this season he has really been digging in. If NSW can squeeze an extra few percent out of him, he will go well.
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You should be a footy analyst you always backup your points with data.
 
Hope he goes well and comes back healthy and happy.

Freddy is risking one of our best players as a rookie at Suncorp in a SOO decider up against Tino's elbows.

Fittler broke Hynes this series like Daley broke Dylan Walker in 2016. Each was put on in the last 10 mins and struggled. It took him years to re-find his mojo. Nicho's a much better player, but not since the first SOO.

Hope Fittler doesn't sacrifice Stefano by putting him on in a no-win situation ... better for a rookie to be on the bench for the whole game than be single-handedly expected to turn around 70 mins of momentum in ten minutes.
 
Tiger_Fanatic3 said:
Fittler really not a fan of David Klemmer...

Averaging 152m, has a solitary missed tackle through 13 games, has led the WT pack all year and proven at the highest level thru every game & leads by example...

What's not to like there.

🤔
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Agree, I would have picked Klemmer before Stef on club form because I didn't think he was going all that well, but you knew that being picked to be around that Origin squad a couple of times now that it was almost inevitable that he would be getting a start eventually.

I hope he goes well and that this is the catalyst for him to go to the next level and that a bad performance doesn't destroy his confidence and set him back in his development.

Freddie has been a fan of his for a long time having coached him in rep teams from about the age of 15.

I will be pretty pissed off if Fittler gives him limited minutes at a bad time during the game and does the type of thing he did to Nicho in Origin 1.

The guy has no idea of what he is doing and when he was asked how he would use Nicho off the bench in Origin 1 he had no idea and if Turbo didn't go off It looked like he wasn't going to get a run at all.
 
hank37w said:
Agree, I would have picked Klemmer before Stef on club form because I didn't think he was going all that well, but you knew that being picked to be around that Origin squad a couple of times now that it was almost inevitable that he would be getting a start eventually.

I hope he goes well and that this is the catalyst for him to go to the next level and that a bad performance doesn't destroy his confidence and set him back in his development.

Freddie has been a fan of his for a long time having coached him in rep teams from about the age of 15.

I will be pretty pissed off if Fittler gives him limited minutes at a bad time during the game and does the type of thing he did to Nicho in Origin 1.

The guy has no idea of what he is doing and when he was asked how he would use Nicho off the bench in Origin 1 he had no idea and if Turbo didn't go off It looked like he wasn't going to get a run at all.
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Why not pick both?
 

‘My brother would be very proud’: The horrific accident driving Utoikamanu’s Origin debut​

When Stefano Utoikamanu runs onto Suncorp Stadium for his State of Origin debut, his thoughts will drift to his close brother.

“It’s massive. Unfortunately he can’t play footy any more, but I’m always thinking of him when I play,” Utoikamanu said. “I can’t wait to go out there and do him proud.”

Utoikamanu will fulfil a childhood ambition by pulling on the NSW jersey on Wednesday night, one that was once shared by older brother Filia. Despite a one-year age gap, the siblings played in the same junior teams and both appeared destined for big things.

That is, until Filia’s career came to a shuddering halt after breaking his neck in a lower-grade fixture in 2017. Doctors said Filia was fortunate to avoid quadriplegia, but his footballing career came to a premature end.
“He’s definitely someone I want to make proud,” Utoikamanu said. “I think he is proud of me. He is someone I always think about when I run out onto the field.

“[We played in the same teams] all the time, I was doing that since I was five. My mum used to chuck us in together and everyone thought we were twins because I was just as big as him. It was good times, we made a lot of good memories together.

“I’m grateful I got to play alongside him. He still comes to my games, I always ask him if he wants tickets and he comes when he wants.” Utoikamanu has overcome other obstacles to realise his Origin dream. A broken leg ruined an entire Harold Matthews season and then the Cabramatta junior suffered successive season-ending shoulder surgeries.

“I’m lucky enough to play good enough footy to be picked in this team. I’m very excited and can’t wait to run out there.”
Utoikamanu was trained by his father, Kava, while mother Esther has been a tireless supporter. They are among the many family members he will think of in the lead up to the game, including his two-and-a-half-year-old son.

“Definitely, I just want to be a good role model for him and the next couple of kids I have, if I have any more,” he said. “Hopefully he can look at my life and learn a few things.”

In a nod towards his influence on the Tigers, the 23-year-old was named as captain for a pre-season trial, is part of the leadership group and is also the club’s delegate to the Rugby League Players’ Association. Already, he has stated a goal of one day captaining the joint-venture outfit the Wests Tigers. (SMH)

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(Stef with his brother Filia in their youth).
 
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