The morning after the Panthers dynasty finally crumbled, the contenders for the NRL’s vacant throne were already jostling as Storm forward Stefano Utoikamanu described Broncos players as “a bit stuck up”.
Brisbane’s stunning 16-14 defeat of Penrith on Sunday set up a grand final clash between the Broncos and Melbourne, the losing grand finalists from the past two seasons.
Utoikamanu joined the Storm from the Tigers in the off-season and helped the 2024 losing grand finalists beat Brisbane 22-2 in round 23. But he was rested for the round 27 match, which the Broncos won 30-14 to secure a place in the top four.
The 25-year-old said he wanted to take the first carry on Sunday to “run someone over”.
“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 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.”
Utoikamanu’s opposing front rower Payne Haas said he was not concerned about the jibe.
“I don’t really care what they say to be honest,” Haas said. “It is what it is, they can say what they want, we’ll just focus on ourselves, worry about our own preparation, and when Sunday comes around we’ll see about that.”
Brisbane are searching for their first premiership in almost two decades, after falling just short in 2023. Ezra Mam scored a hat-trick for Brisbane in that decider but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Panthers winning their third straight premiership in a nail-biter 26-24 result.
Mam on Monday said that match still haunts him. “For me it was a bit of a shock because that year everything was going pretty good for us and we were like a bee’s … away from winning that premiership and obviously it got taken away from us,” he said.
“It definitely was a good learning experience for myself, and at least we know now for this week coming that we’ve just got to play the full 80 minutes.”
The Broncos team is led by the flashy fullback Reece Walsh, and was the subject of much of the discussion at Storm’s media day at AAMI Park on Monday.
Halfback Jahrome Hughes, who returned from a fractured arm in Friday’s 22-14 victory over Cronulla, said he recognised the threat of the Broncos but his side was focused on themselves.
“We’re going to have to see how they play and minimise their strike because they’ve got strike across the whole park. But yeah, we think if we can focus on ourselves and get ourselves in the best stead, we can give it a really good shake on Sunday,” he said.
Five-eighth Cameron Munster was described as a “big game player” this week by the player agent and broadcaster Braith Anasta who said Munster was suited to the NRL’s grandest stage. Munster laughed off those comments on Monday.
“He’s my manager, so he’s probably just trying to pump my ties up, trying to get my money ready for Perth [Bears joining the competition],” he said.
“I see it as this easy game. Sometimes we delve right into it and think, ‘oh, it’s a pressure game’. Sometimes I just feel like I’m playing in the backyard. I know it sounds silly, but we all put this emphasis and pressure on ‘it’s a grand final’, which it is, it’s high stakes.
“But the more you think about it during the week, the more you play the game in your head and you forget why you play the game. It’s some nice words from Braith, but at the same time he’s my manager, so he’s probably just blowing wind up my ass.”
