- Stefano Utoikamanu levels sledge at Brisbane
Brisbane stars past and present have hit back at claims they are arrogant as a grand final war of words erupts.
Melbourne prop Stefano Utoikamanu lit the fuse when he said he wanted to ‘run at’ Broncos players he didn’t like and who he claimed were ‘a bit stuck-up’.
Utoikamanu will have to run at Broncos weapon Payne Haas on Sunday in the decider.
‘They can think what they think. We are who we are and you can’t change that,’ Haas said.
‘They have this certain image of us down there, so … we’ll see what happens.
‘They can say what they want. We will be out there on Sunday and we’ll see if that’s still going to be thrown around.
Stefano Utoikamanu said he wanted to ‘run at’ Broncos players in the NRL decider
Reece Walsh said there was a misconception about Broncos being so-called rock stars
‘We will worry about ourselves and worry about our own preparation, and when that comes around, we will see.’
Four-time Broncos premiership winner Shane Webcke said Utoikamanu’s words would be music to the Brisbane players’ ears.
‘It’s great for him to say that,’ Webcke chuckled.
‘Someone is going to grab that and, motivation-wise, away we go. Things like that are a gift.
‘That’s good if he thinks that, because we were always described as arrogant. It was never arrogance.
‘It’s why they describe Penrith as being arrogant, because it’s belief, and belief sometimes comes off as arrogance because strong belief looks like arrogance, but it’s not, it’s belief.
‘You talk to the guys here and none of them are arrogant. It’s like the Panthers players, none of them are arrogant. They are lovely blokes.’
Utoikamanu wasn’t backward in coming forward.
Brisbane prop Payne Haas is happy to let his actions do the talking in the NRL grand final
‘I want to make sure this week I set up to get that first kick of the game,’ the Storm prop said.
‘There’s going to be a lot of people I want to run at. There’s a lot of people I don’t like in this team.
‘I’m keen to go out there and run someone over.
‘I don’t want to name names but, yeah, there’s a lot of people I think are a bit stuck-up and I’m pretty keen just to run at and do a job for our team.’
Broncos rookie Ben Talty said the Utoikamanu slur was nothing new.
‘There’s been some horrible things and bad things said about us, but we’re in this position now,’ Talty said.
‘I’m not reading too much into that. Everyone knows the attitude we are going to turn up with this Sunday.
‘Take it as arrogance, take it as confidence, take it however you want.’
The Broncos are a flamboyant group of players at a glamour club, but Reece Walsh, their hottest star, said there was a misconception about the players being so-called rock stars.
‘There is a lot of talk around the ‘Broncs’ that we are show ponies and don’t want to work hard, but it is not until you are in these four walls that you see how hard we work and how many sacrifices we make for each other and this club,’ he said.
‘We all do genuinely care and have so much love for the club.
‘I am really enjoying what we are building here at the club with a new coach and new coaching staff driving standards. Everyone is buying into the culture and everyone wants to get better.’
