Latest news with #Utoikamanu
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Stefano joins bench in Blues only change
NRL: Storm enforcer Stefano Utoikamanu is the only change to the Blues game one lineup after Barnett suffered an ACL injury.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'It was hard': Pole reflects on Storm snubbing
It was a hard for a teenage Fonua Pole to move away from Melbourne when it became clear the Storm weren't interested in signing him. Along with Trent Toelau and Sua Fa'alogo, 22-year-old Wests Tigers prop Pole is one of few Victorian juniors playing in the NRL and had become a keen Storm fan after his family moved from New Zealand when he was six. A young Pole showed enough talent to earn selection with the Victoria Thunderbolts, the youth representative side that has since been replaced by the Storm's own Jersey Flegg, SG Ball and Harold Matthews teams. The Thunderbolts had been designed to prepare the state's best talent to be cherry-picked by the Storm. How we line up this Sunday in Melbourne 📋Team List 👉 #OneJungle 🐯 — Wests Tigers (@WestsTigers) May 6, 2025 But Pole's phone never rang. "It's a tough one to explain. I didn't really feel like I was getting looked at over there," he said ahead of the Tigers' clash with the Storm on Sunday. "The pathways weren't as good as it is right now. They've built a good system and pathway for the young ones now but back when I was there it was pretty hard to see locals in the top grade. "As soon as I left, that's when they started prioritising their pathways and stuff. I think it was just timing." Pole was grateful for an opportunity to join the Tigers, even if it meant moving away from his tight-knit family and potentially forgoing the chance for a dream debut at the Storm. But the relocation has paid off in a big way. Pole has amassed 65 NRL appearances since his first-grade debut in 2022 and is now rated one of the NRL's best young props. He will be integral to the side's ongoing rebuild under Benji Marshall, especially now that fellow prop Stefano Utoikamanu has joined the Storm. Sunday's clash in Melbourne marks their first since Utoikamanu left the Tigers for a big-money Storm deal. Pole knows that in another world, it could've been him lining up in a purple jersey against the Tigers alongside his good mate Utoikamanu. "I'll try and go after him a little bit," Pole said with a smile. "He's been waiting for this game but I'll do my job and treat it like every other week." The perennially-successful Storm have since come knocking to try and entice Pole, the one that got away, back to Melbourne. But Pole is now feeling settled at a Tigers side finally looking to have turned a corner in 2025. "I'm happy with where I'm at," he said. "I'm big on loyalty so I'm just trying to repay this club for the opportunity they gave me."
Perth Now
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
'It was hard': Pole reflects on Storm snubbing
It was a hard for a teenage Fonua Pole to move away from Melbourne when it became clear the Storm weren't interested in signing him. Along with Trent Toelau and Sua Fa'alogo, 22-year-old Wests Tigers prop Pole is one of few Victorian juniors playing in the NRL and had become a keen Storm fan after his family moved from New Zealand when he was six. A young Pole showed enough talent to earn selection with the Victoria Thunderbolts, the youth representative side that has since been replaced by the Storm's own Jersey Flegg, SG Ball and Harold Matthews teams. The Thunderbolts had been designed to prepare the state's best talent to be cherry-picked by the Storm. But Pole's phone never rang. "It's a tough one to explain. I didn't really feel like I was getting looked at over there," he said ahead of the Tigers' clash with the Storm on Sunday. "The pathways weren't as good as it is right now. They've built a good system and pathway for the young ones now but back when I was there it was pretty hard to see locals in the top grade. "As soon as I left, that's when they started prioritising their pathways and stuff. I think it was just timing." Pole was grateful for an opportunity to join the Tigers, even if it meant moving away from his tight-knit family and potentially forgoing the chance for a dream debut at the Storm. But the relocation has paid off in a big way. Pole has amassed 65 NRL appearances since his first-grade debut in 2022 and is now rated one of the NRL's best young props. He will be integral to the side's ongoing rebuild under Benji Marshall, especially now that fellow prop Stefano Utoikamanu has joined the Storm. Sunday's clash in Melbourne marks their first since Utoikamanu left the Tigers for a big-money Storm deal. Pole knows that in another world, it could've been him lining up in a purple jersey against the Tigers alongside his good mate Utoikamanu. "I'll try and go after him a little bit," Pole said with a smile. "He's been waiting for this game but I'll do my job and treat it like every other week." The perennially-successful Storm have since come knocking to try and entice Pole, the one that got away, back to Melbourne. But Pole is now feeling settled at a Tigers side finally looking to have turned a corner in 2025. "I'm happy with where I'm at," he said. "I'm big on loyalty so I'm just trying to repay this club for the opportunity they gave me."
News.com.au
06-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Unseen footage of epic Bellamy spray emerges after drama
Unseen footage of Storm coach Craig Bellamy giving two of his players a spray has been released following a dramatic Magic Round clash where the referee 'lost control' according to an NRL great. The Raiders defeated the Storm 20-18 in golden point, with Melbourne pinged for three crucial penalties in the final ten minutes. One of those took a Storm field goal off the board in the 75th minute that would have given Melbourne a 19-12 lead when Trent Loiero elbowed Joe Tapine in the tackle before the field goal attempt. The Raiders would score a miraculous try through Kaeo Weekes to level it up and send it to extra time. Watch your team in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership. Stream every round LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. In golden point, Storm prop Stefano Utoikamanu conceded a contentious penalty while his side were ten metres from Canberra's line and in the ensuing set, Melbourne lock Trent Loiero hit Hudson Young high, gifting the Raiders the matchwinning two points. NRL360 co-host Braith Anasta believes referee Gerard Sutton was 'flustered' in the concluding stages, leading to a couple of questionable decisions. Unseen footage of Bellamy spray 'I thought he lost control the ref. He was visibly shaken and wondered, 'what do I do?' So he went back and gave this penalty because he got this one wrong,' Anasta said. Anasta as well as journalists Phil Rothfield and Brent Read believed the Storm were harshly done by when Utoikamanu was penalised for foul play on Raiders hooker Tom Starling in the 84th minute. 'I still don't know what the penalty is on Utoikamanu for. Starling got caught up in the ruck here and he's trying to play the ball,' Anasta said. 'I thought it (the refereeing) was completely puzzling,' Rothfield added. 'Even the Utoikamanu penalty at the end. I had my doubts whether that was a penalty. I didn't know he had been told earlier in the game he was on a warning. Read then said: 'Stefano hasn't done anything there. Starling won't get out from underneath him.. What's he meant to do?' Bellamy refused to lay blame on the officiating when discussing the loss in his post-match press conference. Instead, he slammed the discipline of his side, particularly Loiero and Utoikamanu. Now, fresh vision of the Storm sheds has been released, with Loiero and Utoikamanu seemingly copping a spray from Bellamy. 'No one saw this last night, we found this earlier today. Stefano and Trent Loiero copping a spray from Craig Bellamy. He wasn't happy,' Anasta said. 'That decision I said around Utoikamanu, it's not to say that Melbourne didn't completely crumble. The players made the mistakes. Loiero twice got it wrong. 'He (Bellamy) had a problem with it and had a problem with his players,' NRL legend Gorden Tallis added. Originally published as Unseen footage of epic Bellamy spray emerges after drama
Sydney Morning Herald
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Crusher-tackle charge leaves Bulldogs forward in a state of angst
Cotter, however, is facing only a two-match ban, which will allow him a chance to freshen up and prepare for the series opener. Meanwhile, Melbourne forwards Trent Loiero and Stefano Utoikamanu avoided suspension but are facing some Craig Bellamy-style discipline after the Storm's fiery 20-18 golden-point loss to Canberra at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday. Loiero and Utoikamanu both conceded penalties in possession that allowed Canberra to recover from an early 14-0 deficit and seal a famous win with a Jamal Fogarty penalty goal in the first period of extra time. Speaking after the game, Bellamy was clearly frustrated, and neither Loiero nor Utoikamanu are likely to be looking forward to Melbourne's video-review session. 'Lapses in our discipline probably cost us there ... one thing we can control is our actions, so to give away two penalties when you've got the ball, it doesn't happen too often,' Bellamy said. 'And to do it in the one game, it cost us. It cost us. It cost us dearly ... we just need to be a bit disciplined and know what our best footy is.' Storm playmaker Cameron Munster, deputising as skipper in the absence of Harry Grant, admitted Melbourne 'played some dumb footy'. But the champion five-eighth was loath to criticise Loiero - who also conceded the game-breaking penalty after a high shot on Young - because he had made similar mistakes himself in the past. 'He's a great player ... I'm not going to sit here and bag him,' Munster said. 'He's done so much great stuff for us as a club. He's an integral and influential part of the team.' Loiero and Utoikamanu were outliers on a Magic Round weekend that was in stark contrast to the mayhem a week earlier, when 18 players were sin-binned - including 15 for high tackles - across eight games. Only one player, Cronulla forward Jesse Colquhoun, was binned in the opening two days and five games of Magic Round and Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon admitted he 'deserved it' for a blatant professional foul. Three more sin-binnings followed in the first game on Sunday - Gold Coast pair Brian Kelly and Chris Randall and Preston. Regardless of whether there was less drama in Magic Round because players were on their best behaviour, or because match officials opted for a more lenient approach, the end result was collective applause from coaches, media and fans. The eighth Immortal, Andrew Johns, who a week earlier described the high-tackle crackdown as 'absolutely farcical', told the Sunday Footy Show: 'Every game has flowed. It's been high energy. I've loved it.' Other players charged by the match-review panel over the weekend were South Sydney prop Tevita Tatola, Cronulla playmaker Braydon Trindall, Roosters utility Zach Dockar-Clay, Dolphins second-rower Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, Gold Coast prop Moeaki Fotuaika and Canberra centre Sebastian Kris, all of whom are facing fines. Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon had no issue with Colquhoun's sin-binning, saying it was an 'obvious one' that warranted on-field action. Loading 'That's a professional foul every day of the week, so you've just got to wear that,' he said. Fitzgibbon said it was a relief to get through a game without having multiple players sent to the sheds for 10 minutes. 'We don't want to see people in the bin,' he said. 'Who wants to see that? 'We don't want to see people get smashed in the face, but we don't want to see them in the bin. 'I thought it was handled well … I thought some of the penalties that weren't quite high were a little bit not a penalty, but everything else was all right.'
