Wests Tigers youngster Stefano Utoikamanu has lifted the lid on his incident with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves last weekend that saw the veteran Rooster suspended by the judiciary.
Aiming to get under Waerea-Hargreaves' skin last weekend, Utoikamanu constantly taunted the veteran about his age after the Wests Tigers believed he delivered a late 'dog shot' to their captain in Apisai Korisau.
Labelling him a "grub", the taunts would work with the veteran headbutting the youngster in a scuffle, which will now see him miss this week against the Rabbitohs and the 2024 season's opener in Las Vegas.
Charged with a striking charge, he will miss an extra three weeks on top of the four weeks he will face for dangerous contact on Koroisau, meaning he will no longer take part in any of the Roosters' games for the remainder of the season and will miss the upcoming Tests for the New Zealand Kiwis.
โI saw him do that hit on Api and I got angry,โ Utoikamanu said.
โApi's our captain, and I tried to have his back. I know Jared is a nice bloke off the field, but he's a bit of a grub on the field. I wanted to get into him a bit.
โI might have said something [about his age], calling him โold', but I didn't mean it. I tried to get into his head. He split himself because he headbutted my tooth. That's how he got the cut on his head.
โIf he wants to go [next time], I don't care, I'll go. When it comes to my teammates, I'll always have their back, especially Api, he's our captain โ you need to have his back even more.โ
Utoikamanu, who appeared in his first State of Origin game for the NSW Blues will miss this week's game against the Manly Sea Eagles bringing his season to an early close. However, the enforcer will be aiming to continually get better and help guide the club off the bottom of the ladder next season.
