Reece Walsh, Ezra Mam and Stefano Utoikamanu were all loudly booed at the NRL grand final fan day on Thursday, in a clear indication of who supporters think are the villains of the decider. The Broncos and Storm gathered in Sydney for the traditional post-match press conferences, which were held in front of an audience of fans.
The players were all presented to the crowd, and tellingly it was only Walsh, Mam and Utoikamanu who received audible boos. Walsh is always a magnet for criticism despite being the hottest player in the game right now, while Mam has received similar treatment all year since returning from his nine-game ban.
Ezra Mam and Reece Walsh received audible boos at the NRL grand final fan day. (AAP Image/Steve Markham )
Many believe the five-eighth got off lightly and should have been rubbed out for the entire year after he caused a car accident with cocaine in his system that injured a mother and small child. Mam has been booed by away fans all year and might cop it again in Sydney on Sunday night.
“I have been fine with it,” he said of the boos. “I can’t control what other people think. I am just worried about myself and doing my role in the team and everyone here in Brisbane proud.”
Reece Walsh with Broncos teammates at the NRL grand final fan day. (AAP Image/Steve Markham)
Broncos play down Stefano Utoikamanu swipe
Utoikamanu made himself public enemy No.1 in Brisbane when he took a stunning dig at “stuck-up” Broncos players early in the week. It remains unclear who Utoikamanu was referring to, but the likes of Walsh and Mam have previously been accused by critics of having a rock-star attitude and being arrogant.
Brisbane coach Michael Maguire, who previously worked with Utoikamanu at the Wests Tigers, has made a point of defending his players’ character and said the prop’s comments would largely go unnoticed. “My players have got their own motivations,” Maguire said on Thursday.
“They’ve been very dialled in for the last couple of months. We’ve really focused a lot more on ourselves and anything that goes on around us. I think that’s one of the reasons why we are where we are, I know that the players will do that and will just work hard together.”
The Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos in Sydney. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
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Broncos lock Patrick Carrigan said the players took Utoikamanu’s barb with a grain of salt. “It doesn’t really bother me, I think it’s always part of life,” Carrigan said.
“People say and think about you what they want. I just know that I love playing footy with these boys and turning up every day and working hard. We know that we’ve got a job to do and that’s about locking into our role and playing our brand of footy.”
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Meanwhile, Maguire has floated the possibility that he might make changes to the 17 he named on Tuesday and might elevate Mam into the starting side. Mam made his return from a hamstring injury in the preliminary final last week, but came off the bench while Ben Hunt started at five-eighth and Cory Paix at hooker.
Maguire has once again named Mam on the interchange, but has the option of starting him at No.6 and putting one of Paix or Hunt on the bench. “Melbourne will have to wait and see,” Maguire said with a grin on Thursday. “It’s something I’m weighing up and we will decide that at the back end of the week.”