Sean Hoppe

Sean Hoppe
Personal information
Full name Sean Edward Hoppe
Nickname Shoppe
Born 19 January 1971 (1971-01-19) (age 41)
Auckland, New Zealand
Playing information
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 95kg
Position Wing, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
19?? Northcote Tigers
1992–1993 Canberra Raiders 39 22 0 0 88
1994 North Sydney Bears 25 15 0 0 60
1995–1999 Auckland Warriors 88 44 0 0 176
1999–2002 St Helens 98 36 0 0 144
Total 250 117 0 0 468
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
Auckland
1990–2000 New Zealand Māori
1992–2002 New Zealand 35 17 0 0 68
1997 New Zealand (TS) 2 0 0 0 0
Source: RLP

Sean Edward Hoppe[1] (born 19 January 1971) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented his country.

Contents

Early years

Hoppe was a Northcote Tigers junior and played for them in the Auckland Rugby League competition. In 1989 he was part of the Tigers Fox Memorial and Lion Red National Knockout title winning side.[2] He was a part of several other Northcote winning teams during these years and scored two tries in the 1991 Lion Red League final.[3] In 1992 he played for Auckland in a preseason match against the Canberra Raiders.[4] Auckland lost 14-32 but Hoppe performed well enough to earn a contract and he moved to Canberra.

Playing career

Hoppe played 17 games in his first season and won the Raiders' 1992 Rookie of the year award.[5] Hoppe was the New Zealand Player of the Year in 1993.

However at the end of the 1993 season it was announced that Hoppe had signed for the new Auckland Warriors side who were to enter the competition in 1995. Canberra were unwilling to sign Hoppe for just one more year and so he joined the North Sydney Bears for the 1994 season.

He was part of the Warriors inaugural side in 1995 and became a regular first team player. He was voted the competition’s best winger in 1995 and his 19 tries in the 1995 season remained a club record until it was surpassed by Francis Meli in 2003.[6] He is currently fourth on the club's all-time try scoring list with 44. Signed for a five year contract, he was released by the Warriors near the end of the 1999 season so he could join St Helens in the English Super League competition.[7][8] Hoppe joined St Helens on a short term deal but then signed a two year deal with the club.[9] This was then extended for another year and he retired at the end of the 2002 season.[10]

His last two matches in 2002 were a Test match against France for the New Zealand Kiwis followed up by playing against the Kiwis for his club side, St Helens. Hoppe captained St Helens in his final match.[11]

Later years

After retirement Hoppe moved to Bundaberg and is a referee in the Bundaberg Rugby League competition as well as serving as an assistant coach for their representative team.[12][13]

Representative career

Hoppe was a Junior Kiwi in 1989 and played for the New Zealand Māori rugby league team from 1990.[11][14]

Hoppe played in 35 test matches for New Zealand between 1992 and 2002, including the 1995 World Cup. His test career originally ended in 1999 however in 2002 he was called up into the squad touring Europe as an injury replacement and played in the final test against Great Britain and the one off test against France. In these matches he played for the Kiwis in the Centres, rather than his usual Wing position.

Hoppe also represented New Zealand in the Super League Tri-series in 1997 and played for Aotearoa Māori at the 2000 World Cup.

References

  1. ^ HOPPE, SEAN EDWARD 1992 - 99, 2002 - KIWI #631 nzleague.co.nz
  2. ^ John Coffey and Bernie Wood, The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League, Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2007, p. 283.
  3. ^ John Coffey and Bernie Wood, The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League, Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2007, p. 293.
  4. ^ John Coffey and Bernie Wood, The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League, Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2007, p. 300.
  5. ^ Award Winners Raiders.com.au
  6. ^ Sean Hoppe bio rugbyleague.co.nz
  7. ^ Hoppe expected to head to England AAP Sports News, 11 August 1999
  8. ^ How Hoppe fell off the pace Sunday Star-Times, 8 August 1999
  9. ^ Dave Hadfield St Helens invest in Hoppe's experience The Independent, 3 December 1999
  10. ^ Hoppe signs new Saints deal BBC Sport, 6 November 2001
  11. ^ a b Hoppe's last stand; Sean's set to skipper St Helens. Daily Post, 25 October 2002
  12. ^ Murray Wenzel Sean Hoppe the face of BRL News Mail, 6 March 2009
  13. ^ Doug Gillett 47th Battalion team to prosper News Mail, 3 March 2010
  14. ^ John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. pp. 216. ISBN 1869693310, 9781869693312. http://books.google.com/books?id=nklWo8vw-iIC&printsec=frontcover. 

External links

Inaugural Auckland Warriors side

1. Phil Blake | 2. Sean Hoppe | 3. Dean Bell (c) | 4. Manoa Thompson | 5. Whetu Taewa | 6. Gene Ngamu | 7. Greg Alexander |
8. Gavin Hill | 9. Duane Mann | 10. Hitro Okesene | 11. Stephen Kearney | 12. Tony Tatupu | 13. Tony Tuimavave |
14. Se'e Solomona | 15. Tea Ropati | 16. Jason Mackie | 17. Martin Moana | Coach: John Monie