Hopwood's finals run was so amazing specifically because by rights we should only have been asking him to come off the bench and go Leniu mode running at tired ****s. He showed a lot of character which bodes well for the future but yeah he was starting because there was no other option. I have optimism he'll be very impactful as our premier bench middle but yeah we should be asking J Saf/Mooney to make things easier for Cody, not the other way around.
I’m just in the process of rewatching the GF. Sucker for punishment.
Whyte gets the first carry of the GF - who meets him? Hopwood.
Hopwood gets involved with I think it’s 3-4 tackles of the opening defensive set. He flies out to put contact on Collins.
We get points - who takes the first hit up - Hopwood.
Hopwood and Croker topped the tackles with 46 each. (2 and 0 missed respectively).
2026 was probably meant to be a development year. Coming off the bench as you say, for short sharp 30 minutes.
Instead he’s been thrown into the deep end.
At the start maybe a game or 2, he looks a bit out of his depth. Now he finds himself being our top forward in the GF. The improvement is staggering. If this trajectory continues he will command a starting spot soon.
He does remind me of a bit of Yeo. Similar body. Curious if he goes down a ball playing pre season or a hit ‘em hard pre season.
It wouldn’t surprise me if we opt for rotation of Safs/Mooney and Hopwood/Crouch/Niukore.
Keep the big bopper energies of Safs or Mooney out there at all times.
I think, by the end of 2027, Hopwood is one of the first names in the squad - it’s just whether it’s an 8 or 10.
