| Rhan Hooper | |||
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Hooper at a training session in 2008 |
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| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Rhan Hooper | ||
| Date of birth | 9 January 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Charleville, Queensland | ||
| Original team | Ipswich Eagles | ||
| Draft | 41st overall, 2005 AFL Draft 58th overall, 2009 AFL Draft |
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| Height/Weight | 177 cm / 78 kg | ||
| Position(s) | Utility | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2006–2009 2010 Total |
Brisbane Lions Hawthorn |
48 (49) 6 (7) 54 (56) |
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1 Playing statistics to end of 2010 season .
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Rhan Hooper (born 9 January 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who has played for the Brisbane Lions and the Hawthorn Hawks of the Australian Football League (AFL). Hooper is known for his blistering pace and hard tackling.
Picked at number 41 in the 2005 National Draft by Brisbane, Hooper was recruited from Ipswich in Queensland and wore the number 33 Guernsey formerly worn by his idol, indigenous player Darryl White.
Hooper is an indigenous Australian (Murri), classified as a utility player, with his ability to play many positions. He has played as a forward pocket, half forward, rover, wingman, half back and back pocket.
Hooper maintained a high media profile for being an "accidental AFL footballer" due to his sometimes unprofessional approach to his football career.
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Hooper was born in Charleville to indigenous Australian (Murri) parents whose ancestry is from the Kooma tribe,[1] before later moving to Cunnamulla.[2]
Hooper lived in Ipswich as a teenager and attended the Bundamba State Secondary College.
He spent some time in Melbourne in his late teens where he was first exposed to Aussie Rules by one of his sports coaches. He proved a talent and even played some matches with the Dandenong Stingrays[3] after he returned to Ipswich to play outstanding football with the Ipswich Eagles, he caught the eye of Brisbane Lions talent scouts. His dashes of blistering pace and ability to pick the ball up at full speed drew comparisons to the similar size and skills of Melbourne Demons forward Aaron Davey, who had surprised the league a year earlier.
Picked at number 41 in the 2005 National Draft, Hooper took very little time to break into senior AFL level, with an exciting performance in the 2006 NAB Cup.
Hooper debuted in the Premiership season against Essendon showing plenty of pace, kicking a goal in his first game and racking up an impressive 7 tackles. His following performances were solid enough to guarantee his selection for several matches.
In late January 2007, it was revealed by the Lions that Hooper had lost his enthusiasm for the work involved in being a professional football player. His former Coach Leigh Matthews stated that the club had been working with Hooper to resolve any issues but had stopped paying him wages in the interim.[4] Hooper returned to the senior side with a renewed commitment in June 2007, returning in round 10.[5]
Among his highlights, season 2007 brought a 2007 AFL Army Award nomination in Round 10 for a match saving chase-down and tackle against the Richmond Tigers, five crucial tackles against Melbourne in Round 15 and four goals against the Carlton Blues in Round 16.[6]
However a lowlight was Hooper's suspension by the league for striking Hawthorn player Rick Ladson in Round 19 which was increased to three matches after Hooper contested a two match ban.[7]
In December 2008, Hooper was suspended by the Lions for 58 days for several breaches to his playing contract including continually failing to attend pre-season training sessions.[8]
In early 2009, he was fined $40,000 for multiple breaches of his playing contract including a second failure to attend training following his first suspension.[9] The AFLPA backed the club's penalty. His last Brisbane Coach, Michael Voss, grew tired with Hooper and delisted him at the end of the season despite being under contract. He was picked up in the 2009 National Draft by Hawthorn using pick 58.
Hooper played six games for the Hawks and kicked seven goals, showing sheer signs of brilliance, in particular in Round 22 against the Collingwood Magpies where he single-handedly kept Magpies game-breaker Dale Thomas to five disposals for the game. Hooper also kicked a very valuable goal in the final quarter as the Hawks went on to win the game by three points.
Despite this great resurgence to his footy career, on 6 October 2010, Hawthorn announced Hooper had quit the club and returned home to Queensland to start a family.[10]
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