Some teams would appreciate a soft month of footy heading into the finals, but Storm prop Stefano Utoikamanu says his side welcomes their brutal run home that starts with a showdown against the team looking to win a fifth title in a row.<\/p>\n
The Panthers beat Melbourne in last year\u2019s decider and have won nine matches in a row to go from last spot after 12 rounds into the top four on the back of last week\u2019s thumping win in Newcastle.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s game is the start of a brutal month for the Storm who then face the Bulldogs (third), Roosters (ninth) and finish with a trip north to take on the Broncos (sixth) as they look to secure a top-two finish.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve already beaten Penrith this year and knocked them off twice in the 2024 regular season, with stiff competition in August set to be the perfect preparation for them in the finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t here last year, but a lot of the boys here played in the grand final,\u201d Utoikamanu said. <\/p>\n
\u201cPenrith didn\u2019t really start the year that well, but I think they\u2019ve won nine straight now so you can see them as the in-form team of the comp, so it\u2019s going to be a good game this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, the finals aren\u2019t far away. Those four teams (that we\u2019re playing) are all going to be in the finals probably, so it\u2019s definitely a good preparation. I\u2019d rather this (than winning by 50).<\/p>\n
\u201cFinals footy is a different game. I haven\u2019t even played in the finals before, but speaking to the other boys, it\u2019s probably going to be reffed a little differently and I think it\u2019s going to be more of a grind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning games by 50 is not going to help us, so these next few games is good preparation for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Storm will be without injured halfback Jahrome Hughes, but their defence has lifted with him out of the side, with the premiership favourites conceding just 12 points in their past two outings. <\/p>\n
Utoikamanu has also lifted since he played the final two State of Origin games for NSW, with coach Craig Bellamy praising his impact through the middle in wins over the Eels and Broncos. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve felt like I probably had to step up a little bit, especially coming out of Origin and being an Origin player,\u201d the prop said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still feels a bit surreal to me that I played Origin this year, but coming out of that, I feel like I had to prove something a little bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing here has probably been the biggest move of my career so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cCraig always tells us to play to our strengths, and I feel like I\u2019ve been doing that every week.\u201d<\/p>\n