Friday Focus: Round 5 vs Broncos

The Broncos have been electric to start the new season, with Blues representative Payne Haas laying a formidable platform for his outside backs to attack the opposition.

Wests Tigers fans will be hoping that rising star Stefano Utoikamanu can take the fight to Haas and assert his side’s dominance through the middle of the park.

In this week’s Friday Focus, we’re taking a closer look at the battle of two former Australian Schoolboy props ahead of Saturday night’s clash.

Standing at 191 centimetres and weighing in at 115 kilograms, Stefano Utoikamanu has long been subject to comparisons with his Brisbane counterpart.

After impressing in his debut season for the joint-venture in 2021, Utoikamanu endured an injury-riddled campaign last year after suffering a high ankle sprain and fractured wrist.

Now fully fit, he has featured prominently in each of the opening four matches of the season, averaging over 100 running metres and making 135 tackles at an efficiency of 94%.

In his only previous encounter with the Broncos, Utoikamanu crashed over for a try in an impressive 18-point victory at Suncorp Stadium.

On the other side of the field, Payne Haas currently sits atop the Dally M leaderboard after an incredible start to 2023.

The representative prop has made the most post contact metres in the competition, racking up 344 metres across his four appearances.

He currently sits seventh in the league for tackle breaks and has accumulated 9 offloads, which is the fifth best tally across the competition.

The importance of his offloading abilities was in full display in Round 3, when Haas tore the Dragons defence to shreds in an inspired 15-minute stint that sealed a convincing victory.

Haas, however, has struggled against Wests Tigers in the past, failing to defeat the black, white and orange in his four previous attempts dating back to 2019.