Benji and Tigers dealt crushing $4m blow as star enforcer quits club
Tigers star Stefano Utoikamanu has told the struggling club that he’ll depart Concord at the end of this season.
The talented front rower told the club on Monday morning of his decision to leave. This was despite having been offered a five-year deal worth a reported $4 million.
The Tigers confirmed the news with a press release containing a terse statement.
“Wests Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu has decided to leave the club at the end of the 2024 NRL season. “Wests Tigers wish Stefano and his family the very best with their future endeavours.”
Due to a clause in his contract, Utoikamanu became a free agent for next season and beyond when he didn’t play in two State of Origin games and when the Tigers were mathematically eliminated from the finals race.
There is interest in the 24-year-old from both the Bulldogs and the Storm, with the Raiders and Dragons pulling out of the race.
The Bulldogs only recently joined in the pursuit for the front rower, with Cameron Ciraldo confirming late last week that the club is “monitoring the situation”.
“Stefano is a really good player. He’s got a lot of potential and we’re monitoring that situation. If he’d like to come here then we’d welcome him with open arms,” Ciraldo said.
“We’re really happy with the people that we’ve got here. We’ve added Sitili (Tupouniua) for next year and a lot of our guys are developing.
“No one is at their potential yet. All our guys are still getting better every day, and every season they play they’ll get even better.
“If we do add a guy like Stefano then that’s great, but if not, I’m really happy with who we’ve got here.”
The Dogs’ interest in Utoikamanu makes sense considering they field one of the smaller packs in the competition.
While the likes of Max King, Sam Hughes and Josh Curran have all enjoyed career years so far, Utoikamanu would add plenty of size and brute force.
Before the Bulldogs’ interest, the Storm would have been the even money favourite to sign Utoikamanu if he left the Tigers.
The prop has reportedly met with Storm brass on two occasions.
“The mail I’ve got today is that the Melbourne Storm are incredibly confident that they will get him,” The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie said last week on NRL360.
“He’s told the Melbourne Storm he wants to play under Craig Bellamy. I’m sure though he’s telling every club that he’s negotiating with that he wants to go there.”
Utoikamanu’s impending departure is another hammer blow to the struggling Tigers, who despite some early season optimism, is battling with the Eels for the wooden spoon.
It’ll be the Tigers’ third straight wooden spoon if they are to finish with the least amount of losses, in what is Benji Marshall’s first season as head coach.
Despite another down year, it’s fair to say the Tigers have shown improvement on last season with second rower Samuela Fainu emerging as a threat on the edge while talented rookies Lachlan Galvin and Tallyn Da Silva have been two bright spots in a mostly dark 2024 campaign.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, with Penrith premiership winners Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva to join the club from next season.