MASSIVE DEBUT TEST
IT’S time for Parramatta to unleash the beast — and Wests Tigers fans should be watching on with interest.
After playing just 36 minutes of rugby league in nearly 10 months, the giant prodigy compared to Payne Haas and David Klemmer will make his debut against Newcastle on Sunday.
Standing 192cm and weighing 115kg, Stefano Utoikamanu will get an early test of his power when he faces Klemmer at McDonald Jones Stadium.
“If you run into him, he will hit you hard,” Eels coach Brad Arthur said.
Parramatta shouldn’t get too comfortable about seeing Utoikamanu in action — he has signed a three-year, $800,000 deal with Wests Tigers from next season.
Late last year, Utoikamanu sought an immediate release to join Wests Tigers but it was rejected by the Eels.
Utoikamanu, 19, played for Wentworthville in last year’s Canterbury Cup grand final on September 28 before pinching just 36 minutes off the bench for Parramatta in a round one Canterbury Cup game on March 15 before the competition was suspended. He has sat idle ever since. That means Utoikamanu has only played half an hour of rugby league in the past 285 days. But make no mistake, he is fresh and pumped is ready to rip.
Utoikamanu won man of the match honours after scoring the game-winning try in an under 18s State of Origin game in 2018. He then ran for 149 metres in NSW’s under 20s win over Queensland last year.
An edge player if required, Utoikamanu was a key member of last year’s Wentworthville grand final side.
In Canterbury Cup last year, Utoikamanu averaged 94 run metres a game with his tackle efficiency rate clocked at 92 per cent. Born in Otahuhu, Auckland, Utoikamanu has represented NSW 16s, 18s and 20s.
He was upgraded at Parramatta’s top 30-man squad in January this year and enters the Eels side due to injuries to Kaufusi, Stone and Kane Evans.
“He’s a big unit,” said Rip Taylor, who coached Utoikamanu at Wentworthville last year. “It’s the old story – you’ve got to put the gloves on at some stage and jump into that 12 x 12 ring. I hope he gets a fair shot at it. I hope the young fella has a crack.”