Stefano Utoikamanu wants to be the next Wests Tigers captain.
Apisai Koroisau will remain in the role for as long as he wants it, but the Wests Tigers prop has already been earmarked as leadership material.
Despite being only 22, Utoikamanu is the club’s delegate to the Rugby League Players’ Association and skippered the side during a preseason trial.
It is a nod towards the Parramatta junior’s potential to wear the captain’s armband.
“Definitely down the track, I want to be a captain of this club,” Utoikamanu said.
“I had a little bit of a taste in [the] preseason when I was captain in the trial game. It probably wasn’t as hard as I was thinking, I was just overthinking everything. I should have just kept everything simple in getting my message to the boys.
Stefano Utoikamanu wants to eventually captain the Wests Tigers.Credit: NRL Photos
“In time, that will come.”
Tigers coaches Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall named Utoikamanu a member of the leadership group during the preseason and he is learning as much as he can from Koroisau.
“He surprised me as a captain, he actually talks a lot more than I thought he would,” Utoikamanu said of Koroisau.
“He’s pretty good at getting a simple message out without saying much. He gets the boys on a roll, especially in the morning when the boys are not energised and are a bit flat.
“I could definitely see him being a captain one day. People will look to him to lead from the front as a prop.”
Isaiah Papali’i on Stefano Utoikamanu
“He’s good at bringing the boys up.”
Tigers teammate Isaiah Papali’i, also a former Eels forward, said Utoikamanu had captaincy credentials.
“He’s quite a quiet dude, but very disciplined and leads by his actions,” Papali’i said.
“I could definitely see him being a captain one day. People will look to him to lead from the front as a prop.
“He led us out in the trials, which was pretty cool. That’s a pretty good stepping stone to eventually getting that role.
“He took his job seriously which is what you want because it’s a big role, whether it be a trial or a normal season game. He did well.”
Utoikamanu is considered one of the most promising front-rowers in the game. The Parramatta junior was part of Brad Fittler’s NSW extended squad for the third game of the 2021 series and has been part of the Emerging Blues camps.
Having missed a chunk of last season with an ankle injury, the Australian Schoolboys star has dropped down the pecking order of Blues contenders. However, he is hopeful that an improved run of form from the Tigers could aid his prospects.
“When you see the players that are in the [representative] teams, they are all top tier and playing in the [top] eight, that’s mostly where they get the team from,” he said.
“If we can get up there, it gives you a big chance of getting in here.”
After losing their opening seven games, the Tigers have now won two back-to-back. They face a difficult task in extending the sequence to three, coming up against the NRL’s hottest team, South Sydney, at Accor Stadium on Saturday.
“We know South Sydney is a pretty dangerous team,” Utoikamanu said. “If everyone in our team turns up and switches in, I reckon we can do a job.”
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