Three Hopoate brothers set to play NRL in 2019

tookey

First Grader
Twenty-five years after his debut for Manly, John Hopoate has hopes of watching two more of his 11 offspring enter the NRL cauldron this season.

Should everything fall into place, Canterbury's Will is set to welcome brothers Albert and Jamil into the top grade.

An exodus of outside backs at Manly has teenage star Albert primed for a debut this season, with the speedster a serious contender for a round one wing spot.

The departures of Brian Kelly and Akuila Uate have opened roles in the outside backs at the Sea Eagles, with Albert vying for a starting berth with recruits Reuben Garrick and Brendan Elliot.

Jamil, 24, is on a train and trial with Brisbane and is eyeing off a spot in the top 30 following a stellar performance in the club's opening trial win against Souths Logan.

The junior star was long tipped for a bright future in the NRL but off-field issues threatened to derail his career before it began.

Jamil spent nine months in jail for assaulting a man outside a Sydney pub in 2014.

Given a chance by Wayne Bennett, Jamil could finally fulfill his high expectations this year with a potential NRL debut looming.

The Hopoates can join an illustrious group of sibling trios to have simultaneously played in the NRL such as the Mortimers, Walters and most recently the Jennings brothers.

Will, a 123-game veteran, says he's excited at the prospect of being joined by his younger brothers.

It'd be amazing, it'd be awesome. I'm sure there'll be a lot of bragging rights over the dinner table he said.

That's a goal of all of ours to play in the NRL and hopefully that can come to pass this year

The whole family will be stoked if they do get a run. For now they've just got to keep their heads down and keep working hard and hopefully get the nod

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...6568fc5329f694b7240fcbfc805&memtype=anonymous
 
Will would be an excellent addition to our squad. Can cover any backline position.

Left field prediction - he will return to Manly next year.
 
John sure can produce decent footballers .

A great shame that Jamil didn't keep it together when he was with us.

I saw him a few times playing Holden Cup, he looked like the second coming of Anthony Watmough. Absolutely restless in attack and defense.
 

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