Stefano Utoikamanu's brother will be at the forefront of his mind when he makes his NRL debut for Parramatta this weekend.
The pair were both gun juniors coming through the Eels ranks until Filia broke his neck in a lower-grade fixture. Doctors said Filia was fortunate to avoid quadriplegia, but his footballing career came to a premature end."Stefano was more determined, Filia pushed him even more to make it [after the incident]," said their mother, Esther.
"He was supposed to be here with me," Utoikamanu said at the time. "It’s hard because I’d always been training with him, we’d always pushed each other. It’s been really tough without him. He gives me strength. Filia Utoikamanu, the brother of Parramatta Eels forward Stefano Utoikamanu, after suffering a career-ending neck injury.Utoikamanu has had to overcome his own obstacles to make the grade. No sooner than recovering from a broken leg that wiped out his entire Harold Matthews year, the Cabramatta junior suffered successive season-ending shoulder surgeries.
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