Stefano Utoikamanu vows to make biggest impact possible for NSW after being recalled for game II

Limited opportunities in his State of Origin debut have made the plan clear for Stefano Utoikamanu, who is seeking redemption in his return for NSW.

It’s impossible to say whether Stefano Utoikamanu would have played State of Origin this year if he’d stayed at the Wests Tigers, but what he does know is that the move to Melbourne made him a better player and gave him a chance to win back his spot in the Blues team.

Utoikamanu was in the squad for the series opener but will come off the bench in game two in Perth next week after starting prop Mitch Barnett was ruled out for the rest of 2025 with a serious knee injury.

The injury has opened the door for Utoikamanu to revive his Origin career after he was given a taste of it in 2023, with his failure to be reselected allowing him to activate a clause to leave the Tigers at the end of last year to move to the Storm.

“It’s hard to say. The Tigers are going better now than we were last year, so I wouldn’t know,” he replied when asked if he’d be in the team if he was still at the Tigers.

“It was one of the things I looked at when I was going to leave the Wests Tigers. I feel like the Melbourne Storm have such a good system, and being in it now, I’m happy I made the move and happy to be here.

Stefano Utoikamanu has found a new home at the Storm. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“There’s a system there that’s made a lot of players become better. A lot of players go there and become better, and there are a lot of teams you can’t say that (about).

“Melbourne’s one of those teams that when you go there you have to do the hard work. But once you do the hard work, you’re going to become a better player.”

Utoikamanu has produced fairly similar stats at the Storm to what he was doing at the Tigers, with the front-rower seeing the game differently under coach Craig Bellamy, who ripped into him after a couple of costly penalties at Magic Round.

Plenty of people feel that Tigers prop Terrell May deserves to be in the NSW side, and the numbers suggest it should be a matter of if and not when he gets the chance to put on the jersey.

But May will have to watch on as the man he replaced at the Tigers gets a second crack at it two years after his 13-minute cameo off the bench where he struggled to make an impact as the Blues were blown out in Brisbane.

Reece Walsh and Jarome Luai were sent off that night as Utoikamanu came on five minutes before halftime, had six runs and was then dropped for the dead rubber.

“I’ve thought about that a lot,” he said.

Stefano Utoikamanu is ready to go for NSW. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

“I didn’t really get a real taste of getting in there. I played 12 or 15 minutes and it’s pretty hard coming off the bench because you’ve got to make an impact. If you don’t make an impact then there’s not really any point you being out there.

“Coming off the bench you should be fresh and looking to give your team a bit of energy, especially in Origin. That’s a big role to have coming off the bench and that’s something I’ll be looking to do in this game.

“I’m happy I get another opportunity to go in there and show them what I can actually do. That first time I felt like I didn’t do what I needed to do. We lost that game, so I’m happy I get to come back, be around this group and show everyone what I can do.”