The Origin clause that could come back to bite Tigers

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Brad Fittler’s decision to drop rookie Blues prop Stefano Utoikamanu for the final game of the State of Origin series could have big repercussions for Wests Tigers.

Utoikamanu made his Origin debut in Brisbane in game two, playing 12 minutes off the bench, but was dropped by Fittler for the dead rubber in Sydney on Wednesday.

That decision could have sizeable consequences for the Tigers due to unique clauses in the young prop’s contract, one of which involves Origin.

Utoikamanu, 23, is contracted with the Tigers until the end of 2025 – but there is a clause in his deal, inserted due to concerns over the direction of the club, that allows him to become a free agent in 2025 if the Tigers miss the top eight in 2023 and 2024. This year’s performances have done little to allay those concerns.

However, the Tigers inserted a counter-clause to protect them if Utoikamanu was to excel for the joint venture, stating that the free agency clause will be void if he represents NSW twice by the end of 2024.

On Tuesday, Utoikamanu said Fittler had informed him he was being “rested” for game three.

Stefano Utoikamanu only made a cameo for the Blues in this series.Credit: Getty

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

The news cycle over the past week has been hijacked by the Rugby League Players’ Association’s media boycott. Tensions between RLPA chief executive Clint Newton and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo have threatened to bubble over.

NSW Premier Chris Minns was inside the NRL suite for Origin III on Wednesday night, but it came as no surprise there were no RLPA delegates in Abdo’s room. Instead, the RLPA took refuge inside the NSW Rugby League box at Accor Stadium.

The animosity towards the NRL from inside the NSWRL is on par with that from the RLPA, after the NRL took the state body to court over the handling of its board election last year, which caused a rift within the game.

Daly Cherry-Evans at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night.Credit: Getty

Banding together over ban

The RLPA has said the media boycott would only apply on days that a match was being played.

Despite this, James Tedesco and Reuben Cotter spoke on stage on Wednesday night before Daly Cherry-Evans followed suit.

With no NRL matches on Thursday, it was expected the NSW and Queensland players would speak after leaving their respective camps. However, the RLPA has instructed the players not to talk.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and RLPA boss Clint Newton.Credit: Getty

It’s hard to follow. Especially when the trio thanked fans, sponsors and their fellow players on the field on Wednesday night.

Eyes on Ivan

There were a few surprised onlookers when Ivan Cleary followed Brad Fittler and Greg Alexander into the Blues coaches box before kick-off on Wednesday night.

Cleary, the coach of the back-to-back premiership-winning Penrith Panthers, was invited as a guest of Fittler. The NSWRL claimed Cleary had no official role.

Show of support

Several NSW players who featured in games one or two made their way to Accor Stadium to support their teammates.

Nicho Hynes, Junior Paulo, Hudson Young, Nathan Cleary, Tom Trbojevic and Api Koroisau were all in the stands for the game.

Payne Haas, Jarome Luai, Tevita Pangai jnr, Tyson Frizell and Utoikamanu weren’t at the match.

Signs of life in dead rubber

There were fears Wednesday night’s game would be played in front of a half-empty stadium following Queensland clinching the series in Brisbane in game two.

However, the crowd of 75,342 was the biggest for a dead rubber at Accor Stadium. The biggest previous attendance for a dead rubber came in 2016, when 61,267 were on hand for game three at the same venue.

The crowds have also flocked to the NRL this year. The 2.6 million cumulative crowd figure is the highest in the first 19 rounds in a decade. The average attendance per match is almost 18,400.

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