NSW forward Stefano Utoikamanu speaks out after clinging to State of Origin spot for decider
Stefano Utoikamanu has defended his performance in State of Origin II after the Melbourne Storm prop retained his place in the NSW squad.
Utoikamanu divided opinion as he held his position in the Blues squad, with calls for in-form South Sydney enforcer Keaon Koloamatangi to be included with the shield on the line in Sydney on July 9.
The 25-year-old felt he didn't deserve to lose his spot, entering the fray at Optus Stadium in Perth earlier this month with NSW on the back foot.
Utoikamanu came off the bench in the second clash, clocking 27 minutes for the match as the Blues went down in a thriller 26-24.
NSW trailed 26-6 at half-time, with Utoikamanu telling AAP it was difficult to make an impact.
Utoikamanu impeded Queensland's goal-line defence in the second half, which led to an obstruction penalty that denied Nathan Cleary a try for the Blues.
He also ran for only 41 metres, but was not alone in struggling to roll up the field as wet conditions made it tough for either set of middle forwards to build momentum.
'I felt like I didn't really do too much wrong, I felt like it was pretty hard to kind of go on in the game when everything was kind of going against us,' Utoikamanu said.
'It was pretty hard when I came on, but that's not an excuse.'
Utoikamanu has been a consistent performer since joining the Storm this season and came off the bench in Sunday's 30-6 win over Cronulla.
Playing 31 minutes, he finished with seven runs, 20 tackles and one tackle bust, with his coach Craig Bellamy backing his inclusion in Game III of Origin.
Utoikamanu said he would stick to his strengths to help the Blues retain the interstate crown.
'I feel like coming off the bench is a good role for me going into Origin, and I've learnt from that (first) game and I'm pretty excited,'' he said.
'I'm going to stick to my strengths — I know I'm a strong ball carrier, and in defence just make my tackles — making sure I win my tackles is probably the main thing, and that's what I'm looking to do.'
Utoikamanu said belief within the NSW outfit was strong given the way they overcame an 8-0 first-half penalty blitz and finished the Perth match by scoring four second-half tries.
'First half we kind of got blown back a bit, but I feel like we had a pretty good second half and came back and anything could have happened,' he said.
'We're pretty happy with the second half. We know that our discipline needs to be better, and if our discipline's good we have a good chance of winning that game.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
38 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Star's horror after missing flight to Origin camp
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.'
News.com.au
40 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘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.'
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Star Storm prop defends NSW Origin selection
Stefano Utoikamanu has defended his performance in State of Origin II after retaining his place in the NSW squad. The Melbourne prop missed his flight to Sydney for Origin camp on Monday morning but the Blues have since made alternative travel plans that will ensure he is at their Blue Mountains camp this week. Utoikamanu divided opinion as he held his position, with calls for in-form South Sydney enforcer Keaon Koloamatangi to be included with the series on the line at Accor Stadium on July 9. The 25-year-old felt he didn't deserve to lose his spot, entering the fray at Optus Stadium in Perth with NSW on the back foot. Utoikamanu came off the bench to clock 27 minutes for the match as the Blues went down in a thriller 26-24, and impeded Queensland's goal-line defence in the second half which led to an obstruction penalty that denied Nathan Cleary a try. He also ran for only 41 metres, but was not alone in struggling to roll up the field as wet conditions made it tough for either set of middle forwards to build momentum. NSW trailed 26-6 at halftime, with Utoikamanu telling AAP it was difficult to make an impact. "I felt like I didn't really do too much wrong, I felt like it was pretty hard to kind of go on in the game when everything was kind of going against us," Utoikamanu said. "It was pretty hard when I came on, but that's not an excuse." Utoikamanu has been a consistent performer this season since joining from Wests Tigers and came off the bench in Sunday's 30-6 win over Cronulla. Playing 31 minutes, he finished with seven runs, 20 tackles and one tackle bust, with his Storm coach Craig Bellamy backing his Origin III inclusion. Utoikamanu said he would stick to his strengths to help the Blues retain the interstate crown. "I feel like coming off the bench is a good role for me going into Origin, and I've learnt from that (first) game and I'm pretty excited,'' he said. "I'm going to stick to my strengths - I know I'm a strong ball carrier, and in defence just make my tackles - making sure I win my tackles is probably the main thing, and that's what I'm looking to do." Utoikamanu said belief within the NSW outfit was strong given the way they overcame an 8-0 first-half penalty blitz and finished the Perth match by scoring four second-half tries. "First half we kind of got blown back a bit, but I feel like we had a pretty good second half and came back and anything could have happened," he said. "We're pretty happy with the second half. We know that our discipline needs to be better, and if our discipline's good we have a good chance of winning that game." Stefano Utoikamanu has defended his performance in State of Origin II after retaining his place in the NSW squad. The Melbourne prop missed his flight to Sydney for Origin camp on Monday morning but the Blues have since made alternative travel plans that will ensure he is at their Blue Mountains camp this week. Utoikamanu divided opinion as he held his position, with calls for in-form South Sydney enforcer Keaon Koloamatangi to be included with the series on the line at Accor Stadium on July 9. The 25-year-old felt he didn't deserve to lose his spot, entering the fray at Optus Stadium in Perth with NSW on the back foot. Utoikamanu came off the bench to clock 27 minutes for the match as the Blues went down in a thriller 26-24, and impeded Queensland's goal-line defence in the second half which led to an obstruction penalty that denied Nathan Cleary a try. He also ran for only 41 metres, but was not alone in struggling to roll up the field as wet conditions made it tough for either set of middle forwards to build momentum. NSW trailed 26-6 at halftime, with Utoikamanu telling AAP it was difficult to make an impact. "I felt like I didn't really do too much wrong, I felt like it was pretty hard to kind of go on in the game when everything was kind of going against us," Utoikamanu said. "It was pretty hard when I came on, but that's not an excuse." Utoikamanu has been a consistent performer this season since joining from Wests Tigers and came off the bench in Sunday's 30-6 win over Cronulla. Playing 31 minutes, he finished with seven runs, 20 tackles and one tackle bust, with his Storm coach Craig Bellamy backing his Origin III inclusion. Utoikamanu said he would stick to his strengths to help the Blues retain the interstate crown. "I feel like coming off the bench is a good role for me going into Origin, and I've learnt from that (first) game and I'm pretty excited,'' he said. "I'm going to stick to my strengths - I know I'm a strong ball carrier, and in defence just make my tackles - making sure I win my tackles is probably the main thing, and that's what I'm looking to do." Utoikamanu said belief within the NSW outfit was strong given the way they overcame an 8-0 first-half penalty blitz and finished the Perth match by scoring four second-half tries. "First half we kind of got blown back a bit, but I feel like we had a pretty good second half and came back and anything could have happened," he said. "We're pretty happy with the second half. We know that our discipline needs to be better, and if our discipline's good we have a good chance of winning that game." Stefano Utoikamanu has defended his performance in State of Origin II after retaining his place in the NSW squad. The Melbourne prop missed his flight to Sydney for Origin camp on Monday morning but the Blues have since made alternative travel plans that will ensure he is at their Blue Mountains camp this week. Utoikamanu divided opinion as he held his position, with calls for in-form South Sydney enforcer Keaon Koloamatangi to be included with the series on the line at Accor Stadium on July 9. The 25-year-old felt he didn't deserve to lose his spot, entering the fray at Optus Stadium in Perth with NSW on the back foot. Utoikamanu came off the bench to clock 27 minutes for the match as the Blues went down in a thriller 26-24, and impeded Queensland's goal-line defence in the second half which led to an obstruction penalty that denied Nathan Cleary a try. He also ran for only 41 metres, but was not alone in struggling to roll up the field as wet conditions made it tough for either set of middle forwards to build momentum. NSW trailed 26-6 at halftime, with Utoikamanu telling AAP it was difficult to make an impact. "I felt like I didn't really do too much wrong, I felt like it was pretty hard to kind of go on in the game when everything was kind of going against us," Utoikamanu said. "It was pretty hard when I came on, but that's not an excuse." Utoikamanu has been a consistent performer this season since joining from Wests Tigers and came off the bench in Sunday's 30-6 win over Cronulla. Playing 31 minutes, he finished with seven runs, 20 tackles and one tackle bust, with his Storm coach Craig Bellamy backing his Origin III inclusion. Utoikamanu said he would stick to his strengths to help the Blues retain the interstate crown. "I feel like coming off the bench is a good role for me going into Origin, and I've learnt from that (first) game and I'm pretty excited,'' he said. "I'm going to stick to my strengths - I know I'm a strong ball carrier, and in defence just make my tackles - making sure I win my tackles is probably the main thing, and that's what I'm looking to do." Utoikamanu said belief within the NSW outfit was strong given the way they overcame an 8-0 first-half penalty blitz and finished the Perth match by scoring four second-half tries. "First half we kind of got blown back a bit, but I feel like we had a pretty good second half and came back and anything could have happened," he said. "We're pretty happy with the second half. We know that our discipline needs to be better, and if our discipline's good we have a good chance of winning that game."
