‘It was something really stupid': Origin preparations off to rough start after Stefano Utoikamanu misses flight to Sydney
Stefano Utoikamanu's preparations for the State of Origin decider couldn't have gotten off to a worse start after the Blues prop arrived late into camp after he missed his flight from Melbourne to Sydney on Monday morning.
As Blues players gathered at the NSWRL, media were told that three squad members would be missing, with Payne Haas getting treatment on his back in Brisbane, while Bradman Best was returning from Hamilton Island.
But the biggest story was Utoikamanu, who misread his flight details and arrived just in time for the team's media commitments ahead of game three next Wednesday.
'Not a good way to start. It was something really stupid,' the Storm prop said, worried that he could have been punished for the innocent mistake.
'I looked at my flight and it said 10am departure, but for some reason I thought it meant 10am boarding time.
'I was getting ready to leave about an hour before and I looked at my flight details again.
'I had to call Frank (team performance manager Frank Ponissi) and told him I was going to miss my flight. It was pretty crazy and my head is still rattled.
'I thought I was going to come here and do two interviews, but I ended up doing a lot. I'm still rattled and feel bad that I missed my flight.'
Utoikamanu was dropped off by his partner in Tullamarine after a member of the Blues staff booked him on another flight, but it turns out it wasn't necessary.
'I had a pretty good run with the traffic, but I didn't want to risk trying to get there and then missing the flight because that would have made it worse,' he said.
'That flight ended up getting delayed by about 20 minutes, so I think I would have made it anyway.'
The hulking prop forward sat next to someone who had no idea who he was, but the waiting Sydney media all had questions for him ahead of the biggest game of his career.
Utoikamanu joined the Storm this year so he could play in important matches, and it's taken only half a season for him to take his place on the bench with everything on the line.
'This is the biggest game that I've played in my career,' he said.
'To play here in Sydney makes it even more special to do it in front of all the NSW fans.
'I think I'm just excited to go out and play with this group of boys. I'm still pretty rattled to get to play with all these guys.'
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