Ron Massey Cup: Wentworthville Magpies’ Filia Utoikamanu awarded Rookie of the Year
NRL star Stefano Utoikamanu’s older brother Filia arguably was the stronger prospect in the junior ranks before a devastating injury cruelled his career. Now, he is back as a rookie wreaking havoc.
Local Sport
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As Wests Tigers boom rookie Stefano Utoikamanu was handed his first NSW Blues tracksuit after being selected in an extended squad, older brother Filia was sprinting from the train station in his fluoros to midweek training sessions for the Wentworthville Magpies.
In the Parramatta junior system the Utoikamanu brothers were turning heads, rising through the ranks with high hopes of making their name in the NRL.
Filia had even caught the eye of Brad Fittler when he took the field alongside Payne Haas, Zac Lomax and Joshua Curran for the NSW under-18 team in 2017, with the current NSW Blues coach describing the older Utoikamanu as a “very strong player”.
Some good judges say Filia had more promise than his younger brother Stefano, who had a breakout year as a middle forward with Wests Tigers this season.
Just months after representing the junior Blues everything changed with Filia suffering a serious neck injury in a lower grade match. Doctors initially feared the promising football could be paralysed, which thankfully wasn’t the case, however he was told he couldn’t play rugby league again.
Four years on, Filia is once more turning heads with Ron Massey Cup outfit Wentworthville Magpies after he walked into pre-season training following a mate’s recommendation to head coach Brett Cook.
“One of the boys asked me if he could bring his mate down,” Cook said. “I had no idea who it was at the time but he asked me and said he plays back row and this and that.
“After the first trial he was a bit out of condition, obviously being so long out of the game, but for someone who is big and hasn’t done as much training over the past few years he kept finding ways to push himself through situations.
“We knew straight away we were on to a good thing.”
Filia was such a “good thing”, he was recently awarded Rookie of the Year for the Magpies’ Ron Massey Cup team.
Cook said when he heard about Filia’s injury history he spoke to the powerhouse forward to check he was medically cleared to play, but his performances during the Covid-affected season left those watching in no doubt.
The powerful athlete was capable of feats on the field many of his teammates weren’t, with one example being a barnstorming try where he regathered his team’s kick-off before skittling a number of would-be defenders to score.
Cook said Filia’s attitude and commitment were sensational.
“He is such a hard worker, he would always come running from a train station on training time and would still be pretty dirty in his high vis gear. He would have had some big days I think.”
The young forward will return to the Wentworthville Magpies for the 2022 season.
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