T
Tiger5150
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@pj said in [Stefano](/post/1507158) said:
:+1:
Stefano Utoikamanu extends until 2025..
- Thread starter GNR4LIFE
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:+1:
Well back onto Utoikamanu..I love him..Franchise forward to build around..not many at our Club you would want to secure to a long term deal..He is one..good move from Wests Tigers..
Jimmy
Well-known member
Wow this forum is really turning into a joke with all this fighting, like can you grow up and go back to punching walls in, you bunch of babies
Tiger_Fanatic3
Well-known member
Tigerwould
Well-known member
@geo said in [Stefano](/post/1507160) said:
I know there was a lot of talk about extending/ upgrading his current deal like it was a done deal. Did that happen and was it announced? The don’t remember seeing anything official from the club.
@tigerwould said in [Stefano](/post/1508592) said:
Nothing has been announced ..the move to lock him up prior to him being able to officially negotiate with rival Clubs is a good one..as we have seen most recently players are signing with other Clubs a year out... Papali'i with us, Kikau at the Dogs
Targeting a player like Utoikamanu as a long term investment is good business and pro-active planning rather that re-active.. there isn't too many at the Club worth that..he is definitely one..
Tigerwould
Well-known member
@geo said in [Stefano](/post/1508598) said:
Yes definitely. I thought this would have happened by now. Particularly while we have the dollars and only 4 players signed for season 2024.
Tigerwould
Well-known member
Yes definitely. I thought this would have happened by now. Particularly while we have the dollars and only 4 players signed for season 2024.
Edit. with Twal’s extension…make that 5 players signed for 2024. Surely Stefano is next.
Edit. with Twal’s extension…make that 5 players signed for 2024. Surely Stefano is next.
hank37w
Well-known member
@tigerwould said in [Stefano](/post/1508633) said:
Yes, it would be good business to lock him up long term, but maybe the kid (or even more likely his manager) would like to back himself and stay on the market as long as possible to achieve his maximum value.
I'm pretty sure that if he can stay healthy, his contract value can only sky rocket in the future. In the meantime we should be giving him a meaningful upgrade at the very least as a sign of good will and that we truly value him as a player that we would like to build a team around.
Tigerwould
Well-known member
@hank37w said in [Stefano](/post/1508792) said:
Absolutely, we have the money that we need to spend to make the cap expenditure allowance. he’s only on $270 for 2022 & also $270 for 2023. We’ve just seen Isaiah Papali’i say he liked Parra yet moved to the Wts because of the $. Parra were dumb. Not paying Papali’i market rates. Surely we aren’t going to be this dumb again like we were with JAC ect. It’s not like we have a gun spine or other priority signings , just make it happen. Sign him what he is worth not $270K and lock him away.
I’m not saying Jason Taumalolo or David Fifta $.
just sign him now on good $ (but not extreme) before the media starts really getting behind him telling the world he is undervalued and rating him as a superstar.
C
Cobarcats
Guest
@tigerwould said in [Stefano](/post/1508633) said:
I'll be annoyed big time if we waste money on Foran and co without locking up stef
GNR4LIFE
Well-known member
@tigersteve said in [Stefano](/post/1510538) said:
One thing doesn’t have to do with another.
BAGNF05
Well-known member
Lock him up. You build clubs around Stef’s
Locking Stefano has just taken a large Priority bump.
Make it happen to ensure we continue to build of the new theme where WTs are keeping the young players hat they want.
Make it happen to ensure we continue to build of the new theme where WTs are keeping the young players hat they want.
Tigerwould
Well-known member
Stefano should be priority number 1.
Alex Seyfarth's #1 Fan
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[Melbourne Storm’s bold attempt to swap Brandon Smith for Wests Tigers’ Stefano Utoikamanu](https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/bold-attempt-by-storm-to-swap-brandon-smith-for-tigers-utoikamanu-20211203-p59eog.html)
The Wests Tigers have flatly rejected an audacious offer from the Melbourne Storm to swap out-of-favour hooker Brandon Smith for gun forward Stefano Utoikamanu next season.
In a further sign of just how much Smith has angered the Storm over the manner in which he signed with the Roosters from 2023, it can be revealed recruitment manager Paul Bunn reached out to the Tigers this week, shopping Smith on a one-year deal.
New Tigers director of football Tim Sheens discussed the matter with Storm coach Craig Bellamy, with whom he has a long-time relationship from their days as coach and player in Canberra.
Sheens considered the idea of signing Smith because the Tigers have struggled to find an established hooker since Robbie Farah retired, but negotiations abruptly ended when the club was told Melbourne wanted Utoikamanu in return.
Also fresh in the Tigers’ minds is the fact Smith wasn’t interested in speaking to them about a long-term deal a few weeks ago because he wanted to join a top-four team.
The Tigers announced on Friday afternoon they had signed premiership-winning Penrith hooker Api Koroisau on a two-year deal, from 2023.
There is growing speculation the Storm have been shopping Smith to other clubs, despite putting out a media release at the start of the week stating he would be there in 2022.
Melbourne counter this by claiming rival clubs have sniffed “panic” when it’s not there, offering to take Smith off their hands if they want to get rid of him.
Neither the Storm nor Tigers would offer a public comment on the matter.
The Tigers’ offer highlights the internal struggle at the Storm about what to do with their once-loved hooker. He has infuriated club bosses — but can they afford to let him go when they are lacking middle forwards?
Tui Kamikamica has been stood down indefinitely after he was charged by Queensland Police over an alleged incident involving a woman in Brisbane, and Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s future remains unclear because he has not been vaccinated from COVID-19.
With Harry Grant confirmed as the club’s long-term hooker, Smith will likely establish himself as their bankable No.13 should he stay.
There’s a great shame about the poisonous fallout between Smith and the Storm, for whom he’s become a cult hero because of his raw honesty, pranking of teammates (including, on occasion, Bellamy) but mostly the way he plays, selflessly running and tackling without fear of the physical consequences.
Smith is due to front pre-season training on Tuesday, where he can expect a frosty reception from coaches and officials, but the suggestion about the players being angered by his comments on a clothing company podcast, especially about the club having a “piss-up culture”, don’t line up with what the Herald and the Age have been told.
Rather, Smith’s teammates accept him for being honest, the loosest of cannons who shoots from the hip.
“That’s just Brandon,” more than one player reported.
To suggest Smith is a dumbo who has carelessly trashed his club on the way out the door is too simplistic.
There’s a conspiracy theory he wanted to anger the Storm so much that it forced a release from the final year of his contract so he could join the Roosters immediately.
What is more likely is Smith’s comments on the podcast were aimed at certain powerbrokers at the Storm who he believes didn’t treat him with respect when contract negotiations commenced.
Indeed, Smith’s family have angered some Storm officials with remarks made on social media, adding to the tension between club and player.
For their part, Melbourne argue they have stuck by Smith through thick and thin, most recently “the mystery white powder” scandal that led to both him and Cameron Munster being fined and banned for one match.
Once considered two peas in a party pod, Smith and Munster appear to be worlds apart, something not lost on the Storm.
While Munster has come out of rehab bright-eyed and training with an energy few have seen from him before, Smith has been on a whirlwind tour of the eastern seaboard, talking to clubs and talking up his drinking prowess.
Nobody wants to see the character drained out of Smith, although rugby league and its media have a way of killing personalities.
But he should be mindful, at the very least, about being used up by people who don’t have his best interests at heart.
Meanwhile, Roosters players have reached out to him, telling him to tone down his public commentary and focus on footy — wherever that might be when the season starts.
The Wests Tigers have flatly rejected an audacious offer from the Melbourne Storm to swap out-of-favour hooker Brandon Smith for gun forward Stefano Utoikamanu next season.
In a further sign of just how much Smith has angered the Storm over the manner in which he signed with the Roosters from 2023, it can be revealed recruitment manager Paul Bunn reached out to the Tigers this week, shopping Smith on a one-year deal.
New Tigers director of football Tim Sheens discussed the matter with Storm coach Craig Bellamy, with whom he has a long-time relationship from their days as coach and player in Canberra.
Sheens considered the idea of signing Smith because the Tigers have struggled to find an established hooker since Robbie Farah retired, but negotiations abruptly ended when the club was told Melbourne wanted Utoikamanu in return.
Also fresh in the Tigers’ minds is the fact Smith wasn’t interested in speaking to them about a long-term deal a few weeks ago because he wanted to join a top-four team.
The Tigers announced on Friday afternoon they had signed premiership-winning Penrith hooker Api Koroisau on a two-year deal, from 2023.
There is growing speculation the Storm have been shopping Smith to other clubs, despite putting out a media release at the start of the week stating he would be there in 2022.
Melbourne counter this by claiming rival clubs have sniffed “panic” when it’s not there, offering to take Smith off their hands if they want to get rid of him.
Neither the Storm nor Tigers would offer a public comment on the matter.
The Tigers’ offer highlights the internal struggle at the Storm about what to do with their once-loved hooker. He has infuriated club bosses — but can they afford to let him go when they are lacking middle forwards?
Tui Kamikamica has been stood down indefinitely after he was charged by Queensland Police over an alleged incident involving a woman in Brisbane, and Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s future remains unclear because he has not been vaccinated from COVID-19.
With Harry Grant confirmed as the club’s long-term hooker, Smith will likely establish himself as their bankable No.13 should he stay.
There’s a great shame about the poisonous fallout between Smith and the Storm, for whom he’s become a cult hero because of his raw honesty, pranking of teammates (including, on occasion, Bellamy) but mostly the way he plays, selflessly running and tackling without fear of the physical consequences.
Smith is due to front pre-season training on Tuesday, where he can expect a frosty reception from coaches and officials, but the suggestion about the players being angered by his comments on a clothing company podcast, especially about the club having a “piss-up culture”, don’t line up with what the Herald and the Age have been told.
Rather, Smith’s teammates accept him for being honest, the loosest of cannons who shoots from the hip.
“That’s just Brandon,” more than one player reported.
To suggest Smith is a dumbo who has carelessly trashed his club on the way out the door is too simplistic.
There’s a conspiracy theory he wanted to anger the Storm so much that it forced a release from the final year of his contract so he could join the Roosters immediately.
What is more likely is Smith’s comments on the podcast were aimed at certain powerbrokers at the Storm who he believes didn’t treat him with respect when contract negotiations commenced.
Indeed, Smith’s family have angered some Storm officials with remarks made on social media, adding to the tension between club and player.
For their part, Melbourne argue they have stuck by Smith through thick and thin, most recently “the mystery white powder” scandal that led to both him and Cameron Munster being fined and banned for one match.
Once considered two peas in a party pod, Smith and Munster appear to be worlds apart, something not lost on the Storm.
While Munster has come out of rehab bright-eyed and training with an energy few have seen from him before, Smith has been on a whirlwind tour of the eastern seaboard, talking to clubs and talking up his drinking prowess.
Nobody wants to see the character drained out of Smith, although rugby league and its media have a way of killing personalities.
But he should be mindful, at the very least, about being used up by people who don’t have his best interests at heart.
Meanwhile, Roosters players have reached out to him, telling him to tone down his public commentary and focus on footy — wherever that might be when the season starts.
Stick it where the sun don't shine, Melbourne
Alex Seyfarth's #1 Fan
Well-known member
@gazlord95 said in [Stefano](/post/1514080) said:
Stefano looks like he could be playing for Australia soon. No way would we want to lose him.
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