Storm forward Stefano Utoikamanu has lit the fuse for Sunday’s grand final against the Broncos by declaring there are a lot of people “I don’t like” among an opposition outfit littered with players who are “a bit stuck up”.
Speaking at Melbourne’s main media session on Monday morning, Utoikamanu didn’t hold back as he prepares to play in his first grand final after making the big move from the Wests Tigers in the off-season.
The NSW Blues prop isn’t usually one to fire up in the media before a big game, but he made it clear that he’s keen to go after some of the Broncos on Sunday, although it’s unclear who he was referring to in his comments.
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“I’m going to make sure I set up this week to get that first kick of the game – there are going to be a lot of people I want to run at, a lot of people I don’t like on this team,” he said.
“I’m keen to go out there and run someone over.
“I don’t want to name names, there are a lot of people I think are a bit stuck up. I’m pretty keen just to run out and do a job for our team.”
That prompted Broncos superstar Reece Walsh to fire back.
“Has he said that because we get more fans to our games than they do?” he quipped.
“I’m not too sure, Stefano can say what he wants. I couldn’t care less.”
The Broncos averaged an NRL-best 41,185 attendees to their home games in 2025. The Storm ranked fifth, with 23,959 attendees on average, better than all but two Sydney clubs.
‘This year has been a maturing stage’ | 04:57
When told about Utoikamanu’s comments, Walsh’s teammate Payne Haas didn’t want to be drawn into a war of words. But he did issue the Storm front rower a challenge.
“They can say what they want, but we’ll be out there on Sunday, and we’ll see if that’s still going to be thrown around,” Haas said.
“We know who we are. They got this certain image of us down there, so it is what it is. We’ll see what happens.”
Utoikamanu played against Broncos lock Pat Carrigan in Origin this year, while opposition Haas was his NSW teammate.
Haas played all 80 minutes in Brisbane’s come-from-behind win over Penrith in the preliminary final, but Utoikamanu isn’t shying away from the battle up front.
“I’m looking forward to that challenge, he’s one of the best props in the game, if not the best,” he said.
“You’ve seen his performance on Sunday. He played in the middle, played 80 minutes, and did just about everything to help that team win, and I’m just looking at what I can do to stop him a little bit and how I can use my game to tire him out a little bit.
“I’m looking forward to that challenge, and I think we can get the win here.”
Storm and Broncos already firing shots | 03:30
While Haas is widely regarded as the best prop in the world, Storm coach Craig Bellamy declared after the Cronulla game that Utoikamanu has been the in-form middle forward for the past two months.
It took a while for him to get used to the Storm system, but he has more than settled in since Origin with the 25-year-old heavily involved and coming up with huge plays like his offload to set up Jahrome Hughes for a try on Friday night.
“The last eight or 10 weeks, I don’t think I’ve seen a better front-rower in the competition,” Bellamy said after the game.
“He’s such a modest guy. Some of those guys that are really good players have got a bit of (ego) on them, but he’s got none of that. He’s a real down to earth, modest, lovely bloke.”
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