William Hopoate

William Hopoate
Personal information
Nickname Will,[1] Hoppa[2]
Born 9 May 1992 (1992-05-09) (age 19)
Australia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Playing information
Position Fullback, Wing, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010–2011 Manly-Warringah 19 14 0 0 56
2014- Parramatta Eels
Total 19 14 0 0 56
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011 NSW City 1 0 0 0 0
2011 New South Wales 1 1 0 0 4
As of 3 October 2010
Source: RLP

William "Will" Hopoate also known as Viliami in Tonga (born 9 May 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles of the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin three-quarter back, he has also represented NSW City. He is the son of former Australian international, John Hopoate.

Contents

Playing career

Hopoate joined Manly's squads in 2009 at the age of 16 and played the entire year in the Sea Eagles Toyota Cup. He primarily played at fullback but also played on the wing and in the centres.

Despite a season ending injury to Manly 1st-grade fullback Brett Stewart in Round 1 of the 2010 NRL season, Hopoate had to wait until Round 13 to make his debut as coach Des Hasler preferred to use Ben Farrar in the custodian role.

William Hopoate is the son of former Manly player John Hopoate, though other than his physical size, speed, strength and general play, he has shown none of the "bad boy" habits which saw his father often on the sidelines through suspension. Hopoate also represented the Australian Schoolboys team.

In Round 3 of the 2011 NRL season, William Hopoate scored his first ever double against the Newcastle Knights at Brookvale Oval. Hopoate was part of the Manly side that defeated the New Zealand Warriors in the 2011 NRL Grand Final where he was denied the opening try but did produce a miracle flick pass that sent Glenn Stewart over the line for a crucial try in the second half.

Hopoate will spend 2012 and 2013 serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church), following in the footsteps of fellow league player Lagi Setu.[3]

Hopoate will join the Parramatta Eels from 2014 on a lucrative deal rumored to be worth approximately $500,000 per season.

Representative Football

William is Australian-born, his parents are Tongan however despite that his father represented Tonga, his father also played for Australia on two occasions, New South Wales on one and NSW City on three. On 5 June 2011 Hopoate was selected to play State of Origin for New South Wales in Game 2 against Queensland at ANZ Stadium. He is the second youngest player behind Blues legend Brad Fittler ever selected to play for NSW and he scored a try on debut helping NSW level the 3 game series at one all with an 18-8 win. Unfortunately for both NSW and his club side Manly, Hopoate suffered what is termed a 'grade two hamstring tear' and could miss up to six weeks leaving him unavailable for the deciding game of the SoO series and leaving Manly without his on-field services for the same time.[4]

References

  1. ^ AAP (16 June 2011). "Will Hopoate set to miss State of Origin decider". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/state-of-origin/will-hopoate-set-to-miss-state-of-origin-decider-20110616-1g572.html. Retrieved 25 June 2011. 
  2. ^ Lane, Daniel (22 June 2011). "Battle of Will: clubs all want a piece of Hoppa, says agent". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/battle-of-will-clubs-all-want-a-piece-of-hoppa-says-agent-20110621-1gdmb.html. Retrieved 25 June 2011. 
  3. ^ "Young star leaving NRL for Mormon mission". The New Zealand Herald. Newstalk ZB. 13 May 2011. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10725439&ref=rss. Retrieved 3 December 2011. 
  4. ^ Will Hopoate could miss up to six weeks mwse.com.au

External links