Hopoate coup: Eels win race to sign Manly star on return
WILLIAM HOPOATE has played his final game for Manly, with the Herald learning the boom teenager has agreed to turn out for Parramatta when he returns to the NRL from his two-year Mormon missionary work in Brisbane.
Hopoate, 19, had an outstanding match in the Sea Eagles' grand final victory over the Warriors on Sunday after spending three hours at church before the game.
A host of clubs, including Canterbury, the Sydney Roosters and the Warriors, had joined Manly in trying to negotiate a deal with Hopoate's manager, Tyran Smith, of Sportsplayer Management, to tie him down to a long-term deal while Hopoate completed his religious duties.
The Herald's source, who is close to both Hopoate and the Eels, said Parramatta had worked overtime to ensure they signed the eldest son of former Test winger John Hopoate, who also won a grand final with Manly, in 1996.
The young star had thought long and hard about his decision, the source said.
Smith, who could not be contacted, was quoted in The Sun-Herald last May as saying a number of clubs had shown a massive amount of interest in his client because they realised he had the personality and characteristics around which to build a strong culture.
''I think the fact he's so popular and humble appeals to the chief executives because they're things a club can build a culture around," Smith, a former first grader, said at the time.
And he can play - Hopoate's grand final effort against New Zealand belied the fact he had played just 22 first grade games. He made close to 200 metres, produced a magic flick pass for Glenn Stewart to score and came within millimetres of scoring a sensational try himself. His defence and coolness in defusing bombs were tremendous.
It is not known if Hopoate, who represented NSW in State of Origin this season, has informed his teammates of what was described as a "tough" decision.
The news will hearten Parramatta supporters, whose 2014 roster will boast Hopoate, Chris Sandow and Jarryd Hayne - three of the NRL's most electrifying players.
