Then, with his teammates watching, the Chef became the cleaner and had to mop the whole wrestling mat that the squad had been using.
“That was my first day here too – I didn’t realise it was going to be that hard,” Utoikamanu said.
“I did those 100 claps and, after that, I had to mop up the whole mat – so it was pretty humbling to come to a club like this and see that they treat everyone the same. It’s pretty crazy.
“I thought by 50 they might call it, but he made us do 100 – that was pretty hard.”
Utoikamanu mixes it up with the Canberra Raiders.Credit: Getty Images
Like scores of players before him, Chef left that session under no illusions about what was expected at the Storm. His response was exceptional as his teammates repeatedly touted his hard training and consistent performances.
He is now the “enforcer” of the Storm’s forward pack and has broken countless tackles with his forceful running ahead of the Storm’s preliminary final against Cronulla Sharks at AAMI Park on Friday night.
It will be the club’s 10th preliminary final appearance in 11 years, but they face the red-hot Sharks who have won nine games out of 10 since the Storm thumped them 30-6 at AAMI Park in late June.
“He’s brought a lot of impact to our starting forward rotation, you see what he does breaking tackles and all that – he leads from the front with his actions, so it’s been great to have him alongside me this year,” fellow forward Josh King said.
Storm skipper Harry Grant was so excited about the club signing Utoikamanu that when news broke last year, he personally thanked chairman Matt Tripp.
“I actually texted our chairman and gave them [Storm management] a big wrap. We made the grand final and won the minor premiership last year, yet we were still adding a player of the calibre of Stefano,” Grant said.
“As a player sitting in the dressing room, I was pretty excited and I definitely don’t think he has let anyone down with his performances this year and the way he has gone about his business.
Stefano Utoikamanu of the Storm is tackled in the qualifying final.Credit: Getty Images
“He’s come here wanting to be a better player and a better person and he’s done that. It’s hopefully just the start of a long journey that he’s got here with us.”
Utoikamanu is a powerful figure on the field, running for 2506 metres and 93 tackle breaks from 23 games this season. He credits King, Grant, Trent Loiero and the Storm coaching staff for teaching him the club’s defensive system.
“My defence wasn’t the best and they are pushing me to be in the picture all the time,” he said.
Moving to Melbourne wasn’t easy for Utoikamanu, who also has two children under five with his partner Chiara, whom he credits for handling much of the family’s move south.
“You can ask my Mrs as she did most of it as I was in training,” Utoikamanu said.
Victor Wembanyama tries to stop a shot from Steph Curry.Credit: Getty Images
“They’re my support network and the only people I need – it wasn’t a hard move for me career wise, but family-wise having them here has been massive for me.”
While Utoikamanu is aggressive on the field, he is a different man off it – he’s quick to laugh and is honest in his assessment of things, such as re-telling the wrestling matn story or telling this masthead before his first finals appearance that he was used to being on the beers by this time of year.
He has also happily played along as Stefano became “Stef” and then Chef – that nickname is in reference to NBA superstar Steph Curry, who was dubbed “Chef Curry” by the rapper Drake in 2013 for cooking up crazy shots.
“I’m not as great as that, but I’ll just take it on board,” Chef said.
“I knew it might come as they were all calling me Stef and then someone called me Chef and now everyone is doing it – it’s a pretty cool nickname and a great person to be named after.”
King said his big mate had made his mark on the Storm and now they hoped to lead their side to another grand final which would be another first for Chef.
“Steph Curry/Chef Curry – we just play around with nicknames and muck about a bit. But Chef has fitted into the team really well,” King said.
“I’ve got a lot of trust in him.
“He doesn’t take anything too seriously until it comes to game time.
“When he flicks that switch then he’s ready to go but off the field, he’s a big, gentle giant who is a real good fella and a good mate.”
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