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Will Hopoate
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Hopoate
Born (1992-05-09) 9 May 1992 (age 32)
Manly, New South Wales, Australia[1]
Playing information
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
PositionCentre, Fullback, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010–11 Manly Sea Eagles 22 14 0 0 56
2014–15 Parramatta Eels 38 7 0 0 28
2016–21 Canterbury Bulldogs 124 24 1 0 98
2022–23 St Helens 31 5 0 0 20
Total 215 50 1 0 202
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–14 NSW City Origin 2 1 0 0 4
2011–15 New South Wales 5 1 0 0 4
2017–22 Tonga 13 4 0 0 16
Source: [2]

William Hopoate (Tongan: Viliami Hopoate; born 9 May 1992) also known by the nickname of "Hoppa",[3] is a retired Tonga international rugby league footballer.

He played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, Parramatta Eels and Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League. Hopoate has also played for New South Wales City and New South Wales in the State of Origin series.

Early life

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Hopoate was born in Manly, New South Wales, Australia.[1] He is of Tongan descent

He attended Cromer Campus and represented Australian Schoolboys rugby league team.[4]

Hopoate is the son of former Australian international, John Hopoate.

Club career

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Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

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He 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.

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.[5]

Hopoate playing for the Manly Sea Eagles against the Sydney Roosters in 2011

In Round 3 of the 2011 NRL season, 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[6] where he was denied the opening try but did produce a flick pass that sent Glenn Stewart over the line for a crucial try in the second half.

Parramatta Eels

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In October 2011, Hopoate signed a two-year contract with the Parramatta Eels starting in 2014, after his Mormon mission ended.[7]

In April 2015, he agreed to re-sign with the Parramatta club on a three-year contract,[8] however due to legal complications, the contract wasn't registered and Hopoate was left a free agent.[9] In 2016, Hopoate took the Parramatta Eels to court and was seeking $1.83 million in damages.[10]

On 29 October 2016, both parties came to an agreement of a $400,000 settlement.[11][12]

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

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On 7 December 2015, Hopoate signed a 2-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting in 2016.[13] In his first season with Canterbury, Hopoate announced that he would not be playing for the club on Sundays due to his religious faith. Hopoate even went as far to say that he would not play for Canterbury in the grand final if the club was to make it that far as the final is on a Sunday. Hopoate missed Canterbury's qualifying final against Penrith due to the game being played on Sunday.[14][15]

On 14 May 2017, Hopoate reversed his decision and declared that he would be playing Sunday games again for Canterbury.[16] On 1 June 2017, Hopoate re-signed with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for a further three years until 2020.[citation needed]

On 27 November 2019, Hopoate signed a two-year contract extension to remain at Canterbury until the end of the 2021 season.[17]

Hopoate made a total of 13 appearances for Canterbury in the 2020 NRL season. The club finished in 15th place on the table, only avoiding the Wooden Spoon by for and against.[18]

On 10 August 2021, Hopoate signed a two-year deal with English side St Helens RFC with the option of a third season.[19] Hopoate made a total of 24 appearances for Canterbury in the 2021 NRL season as the club finished last and claimed the Wooden Spoon.[20]

St Helens

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Hopoate catching the ball for Tonga at the 2021 RLWC

In round 1 of the 2022 Super League season, Hopoate made his club debut for St Helens where they defeated the Catalans Dragons 28-8.[21] On 24 September 2022, Hopoate played at centre in St Helens 24-12 Super League Grand Final victory over Leeds.[22] On 18 February 2023, Hopoate played in St Helens 13-12 upset victory over Penrith in the 2023 World Club Challenge.[23] On 21 September 2023, it was announced that Hopoate would be departing St Helens at the end of the 2023 Super League season.[24] Hopoate played 16 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table. He played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which ended St Helens four-year dominance of the competition.[25] On 5 November 2023, immediately following the 2023 Tonga tour of England, he announced his retirement from professional rugby league.[26]

Representative career

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NSW

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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 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.[27]

Tonga

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In 2017 Hopoate elected to represent the nation of his ancestral heritage, Tonga. He played fullback in every game of their stunning charge to the 2017 Rugby League World Cup semi-finals. He was a tryscorer in their shock win over New Zealand in the pool stage of the tournament.[28]

He was named at fullback again for the historic first-ever Test match between Tonga and the Australian Kangaroos on 20 October 2018, played in front of a sold-out crowd at Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland.[29]

In October 2022 he was named in the Tonga squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[30]

Personal life

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Outside of rugby league, Hopoate is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As such Hopoate chose not to take part in his early league career and spent 2012 and 2013 serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b Media, NRL Digital. "Will Hopoate".
  2. ^ "William Hopoate - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  3. ^ Lane, Daniel (22 June 2011). "Battle of Will: clubs all want a piece of Hoppa, says agent". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Hoppa Jr signs $300k contract". Fox League. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  5. ^ James Phelps (23 August 2008). "Schoolboys take it to the world". Herald Sun. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Hi I'm William Hopoate". Mormon.org.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Will Hopoate signs with Parramatta Eels | NRL". Zero Tackle. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Hopoate set to extend stay with Parramatta | NRL". Zero Tackle. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Parramatta offer Hopoate 'unders' to stay | NRL". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Will Hopoate's battle with Parramatta moves from courtroom to the field". www.foxsports.com.au.
  11. ^ Proszenko, Adrian; Hall, Louise (31 March 2016). "Canterbury Bulldogs star Will Hopoate seeking $1.83 million from Parramatta Eels" – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  12. ^ Nicolussi, Christian (14 March 2016). "Hopoate's Parramatta battle moves to the field". Daily Telegraph.
  13. ^ "Bulldogs sign Will Hopoate | NRL". Zero Tackle. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  14. ^ Webster, Andrew (5 September 2016). "Will Hopoate's absence for the Canterbury Bulldogs on Sundays isn't about religion – it's about football" – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  15. ^ "Hopoate set to choose God over grand final". ABC News. 30 March 2016.
  16. ^ "Will Hopoate agrees to play Sundays for Bulldogs". ABC News. 15 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Bulldogs make seventh re-signing, Storm gun locked in". Fox Sports. 29 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Dogs confirm EIGHT-man clean-out in first glimpse of Barrett era". www.foxsports.com.au. 22 September 2020.
  19. ^ "St Helens clinch signing of Tonga World Cup captain for 2022 Super League season". www.skysports.com.
  20. ^ "Canterbury Bulldogs set to sign Rabbitohs star Braidon Burns, Storm prop Max King for 2022 NRL season". wwos.nine.com.au.
  21. ^ "St Helens beat Catalans in fiery season opener – talking points". www.loverugbyleague.com. 10 February 2022.
  22. ^ "St Helens sink Leeds to win record fourth consecutive Grand Final". www.theguardian.com.
  23. ^ "St Helens stun Penrith to win World Club Challenge". BBC Sport.
  24. ^ "St Helens confirm 11 departures, including overseas star Will Hopoate". www.loverugbyleague.com.
  25. ^ "Paul Wellens Q&A: Saints review of year and a look to 2024". www.sthelensstar.co.uk.
  26. ^ "Tonga veteran Will Hopoate announces retirement following conclusion of England test series: 'What a ride it's been'". Love Rugby League. 5 November 2023.
  27. ^ "William Hopoate scores wonder try to open scoring for NSW on his State of Origin debut". PerthNow. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  28. ^ "Tonga stun New Zealand to top Pool B". 11 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Kangaroos withstand spirited Tongan challenge". 20 October 2018.
  30. ^ Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
  31. ^ "Young star leaving NRL for a mission for the church of Jesus of latter day saints". The New Zealand Herald. Newstalk ZB. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
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