29 Facts About William Hopoate

William Hopoate known by the nickname of "Hoppa", is a retired Tonga international rugby league footballer.

William Hopoate played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, Parramatta Eels and Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League.

William Hopoate attended Cromer Campus and represented Australian Schoolboys rugby league team.

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

William Hopoate joined Manly's squads in 2009 at the age of 16 and played the entire year in the Sea Eagles Toyota Cup.

William Hopoate primarily played at fullback but played on the wing and in the centres.

William Hopoate is the son of former Manly player John William 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.

In Round 3 of the 2011 NRL season, William Hopoate scored his first ever double against the Newcastle Knights at Brookvale Oval.

William Hopoate was part of the Manly side that defeated the New Zealand Warriors in the 2011 NRL Grand Final 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.

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

In 2016, William Hopoate took the Parramatta Eels to court and was seeking $1.83 million in damages.

On 7 December 2015, William Hopoate signed a 2-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting in 2016.

William 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.

William Hopoate missed Canterbury's qualifying final against Penrith due to the game being played on Sunday.

On 14 May 2017, William Hopoate reversed his decision and declared that he would be playing Sunday games again for Canterbury.

On 1 June 2017, William Hopoate re-signed with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for a further three years until 2020.

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

William Hopoate made a total of 13 appearances for Canterbury in the 2020 NRL season.

On 10 August 2021, William Hopoate signed a two-year deal with English side St Helens RFC with the option of a third season.

William Hopoate made a total of 24 appearances for Canterbury in the 2021 NRL season as the club finished last and claimed the Wooden Spoon.

On 21 September 2023, it was announced that William Hopoate would be departing St Helens at the end of the 2023 Super League season.

William Hopoate played 16 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table.

William Hopoate played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which ended St Helens four-year dominance of the competition.

On 5 June 2011, William Hopoate was selected to play State of Origin for New South Wales in Game 2 against Queensland at ANZ Stadium.

In 2017, William Hopoate elected to represent the nation of his ancestral heritage, Tonga.

William Hopoate played fullback in every game of their stunning charge to the 2017 Rugby League World Cup semi-finals.

William Hopoate was a tryscorer in their shock win over New Zealand in the pool stage of the tournament.

William Hopoate 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.

Outside of rugby league, William Hopoate is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.