Jacob Hopper
Jacob Hopper (born 6 February 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for Greater Western Sydney.
| Jacob Hopper | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopper playing for GWS in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Jacob Hopper | ||
| Date of birth | 6 February 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Leeton, New South Wales | ||
| Original team(s) | North Ballarat Rebels (TAC Cup)/Leeton-Whitton (RFNL) | ||
| Draft | No. 7, 2015 national draft | ||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Richmond | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2016–2022 | Greater Western Sydney | 114 (42) | |
| 2023– | Richmond | 1 (0) | |
| Total | 115 (42) | ||
| 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 1, 2023 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
Hopper was born in New South Wales[1] and grew up in the small Riverina town of Leeton.[2] He began playing football at the age of four with the Leeton-Whitton Crows where his father coached. He joined Greater Western Sydney's academy program at the age of 13[3] and regularly gained selection for NSW representative teams in the years that followed. He attended school at St Francis de Sales Regional College.[4] At the age of 17, he began boarding at St Patrick's College, Ballarat[5] while playing TAC Cup football for the North Ballarat Rebels.[6]
He was recruited by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with the seventh overall selection in the 2015 national draft.[7]
AFL career
Hopper made his debut in round 8 of the 2016 AFL season, in a 91-point win against Gold Coast at Spotless Stadium. He was rewarded with a nomination for the 2016 AFL Rising Star,[8] after he collected 32 disposals equaling the AFL record (since 1992) for most disposals made on debut (Brisbane Lion Bradd Dalziell's 32 in 2008 the previous highest). and nine clearances.[9][10]
At the conclusion of the 2022 AFL season, Hopper requested a trade to Richmond.[11] He was traded on 11 October.[12]
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of Round 23 2022[13]
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2016 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 65 | 107 | 172 | 32 | 33 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 6.5 | 10.7 | 17.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0 |
| 2017 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 89 | 133 | 222 | 35 | 73 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 6.9 | 10.2 | 17.1 | 2.7 | 5.6 | 0 |
| 2018 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 214 | 227 | 441 | 55 | 98 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 10.2 | 10.8 | 21.0 | 2.6 | 4.7 | 0 |
| 2019 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 23 | 10 | 11 | 303 | 296 | 599 | 73 | 95 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 13.2 | 12.9 | 26.0 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 1 |
| 2020[a] | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 159 | 168 | 327 | 40 | 71 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 9.4 | 9.9 | 19.2 | 2.4 | 4.2 | 4 |
| 2021 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 311 | 296 | 607 | 72 | 88 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 13.5 | 12.9 | 26.4 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 15 |
| 2022 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 57 | 78 | 135 | 20 | 21 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 8.1 | 11.1 | 19.2 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 0 |
| Career | 114 | 42 | 47 | 1198 | 1305 | 2503 | 327 | 479 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 10.5 | 11.4 | 21.9 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 20 | ||
Notes
- ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Honours and achievements
- Greater Western Sydney Giants Academy Player Of The Year: 2015
- 2016 AFL Rising Star: nominee
- Greater Western Sydney Giants Rising Star: 2016
- Brett Kirk Medal: 2019
References
- ^ Polkinghorne, David (17 April 2019). "GWS Giants re-sign Jacob Hopper ahead of Fremantle Dockers clash". Canberra Times. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ Cordy, Neil (20 May 2016). "GWS Rising Star Jacob Hopper out of the wilderness and into the AFL spotlight". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ Jones, Mary (17 May 2016). "Celebrating Jacob Hopper's debut". Ladies Who Leap. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "All Australian honours for U15 schoolboys". August 2012.
- ^ Walsh, Courtney (7 May 2016). "Young Giant Jacob Hopper a youngster in eye of Riverina storm". News.com.au. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ^ Wrigley, Brendan (17 May 2016). "Former Rebel Jacob Hopper earns AFL Rising Star award". The Ballarat Courier. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ^ Buckley, James (6 September 2016). "Jacob Hopper perfect example of GWS Giants academy graduate who now plays AFL". The Age. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ Zell, Alison (16 May 2016). "A Debut to Remember". Greater Western Sydney Football Club Official Website. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ Warren, Adrian (14 May 2016). "GIANTS Stand Tall Over Suns". AAP. Greater Western Sydney Football Club Official Website. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ Curley, Adam (14 May 2016). "Hopper Hype and Mohr's Return". AFL Media. Greater Western Sydney Football Club Official Website. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ Twomey, Callum (8 September 2022). "Giant plus for Tigers as mid chooses Punt Rd as new home". AFL Media. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ @AFL_House (11 October 2022). "Trade paperwork lodged" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Jacob Hopper". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
External links
- Jacob Hopper's profile on the official website of the Greater Western Sydney Giants
- Jacob Hopper's playing statistics from AFL Tables