Parramatta rookie Stefano Utoikamanu admits he thought he could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines for his biosecurity breach after his NRL debut.
The 20-year-old prop will instead line up against his future team on Thursday night, after making what “the hardest decision” of his life to leave Parramatta for Wests Tigers next year.
For a brief few moments after Parramatta’s round nine game against Newcastle, Utoikamanu thought that chance might not come at all.
Elated after the Eels’ win over the Knights, Utoikamanu ran to hug members of his family in attendance before he was pulled away.
He had breached the NRL’s COVID-19 protocols and was left “s***ting myself” about what sanction would be issued from the NRL.
“I wasn’t thinking. Everything just kind of went out of my head … It was not the best decision I have made,” Utoikamanu said.
“I had no clue (what it meant). I was scared.
“I thought maybe I might be out for two weeks, or I didn’t even know how long. It was scary.
“Lucky Sults (football manager Craig Sultana) helped me out a bit, or a lot. He pretty much got all my work done for me.
“I was scared, s***ting myself.”
Ultimately, the forward was sidelined for just days, as his family promptly returned negative results.
Utoikamanu doesn’t know what was harder: facing coach Brad Arthur after the breach or telling him in January that he was leaving for the Tigers in 2021.
But it’s not hard to see why he became a target for the joint venture.
Utoikamanu represented NSW and Australia at a junior level and was so highly rated by the Eels he spent the past two seasons in NSW Cup as a teenager.
It also speaks volumes that the Eels have still decided to blood him this year despite his impending departure, as they push towards a drought-breaking title.
“I’m grateful for that,” Utoikamanu said.
“I stayed here and put my head down and worked hard to try and debut this year.
“I’m grateful that Brad gave me the opportunity this year.
“(Leaving) was probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my life.
“But I have to do what is best for me and my family.”