Player Watch #2 Jacob Hopper

[Karp3_dm]

lol They want good players, not rejects.

I was gonna suggest he could be their water boy but the players would die of dehydration

 

[Tackle Bag]

I’d drop Prestia before him, but it’ll never happen for either of them.

 

[captain blood 17]

bull dust, not a great season, he is a below ave footballer. stop making allowances for a overpaid spud.

What are you even talking about? I said i would of have liked him dropped for the Port game? And have a look at where he finished last season in the b and f. RUOK?

 

[Vassp]

What are you even talking about? I said i would of have liked him dropped for the Port game? And have a look at where he finished last season in the b and f. RUOK?

came out a bit hot, sorry about that. Just frustrated and it came out in my post.

the player mostly likely to win a B & F, is an on baller.

In a list as bad and inconsistant as last years, the stat plodder polled as the third best out five or six players likely to win it. I wouldnt put much weight into last years B & F.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

This bloke is playing a major role in derailing our rebuild .
Can’t tackle or kick which on its own is putting relentless pressure on our defenders, fellow on ballers and limiting quick entry opportunities for our forwards.

 

[Le RickyBobby]

Just an incredible Jacob Hopper

2

Jacob Hopper

Age

29

Ht

187cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.0

5star

K

9.9

4star

HB

11.1

5star

M

2.9

3star

T

4.5

5star

CL

4.3

5star

D

17.6

4star

K

8.8

4star

HB

8.9

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

4.6

5star

CL

4.0

5star

D

18.6

5star

K

8.4

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.8

5star

CL

3.4

5star

stat for you.

Hopper through 4 games 7 tackles

Jack Steel v Gold Coast in round 4 had 8 tackles.

 

[Trucker Tiger]

Stat by salary, the worst player in the league. Not his fault but jeez.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

Just an incredible Jacob Hopper stat for you.

Hopper through 4 games 7 tackles

Jack Steel v Gold Coast in round 4 had 8 tackles.

73% game time hopper
77% game time Steele

7 pressure acts - hopper
17 pressure acts - Steele

Steele once every 5.8 minutes
Hopper once every 15 minutes ( not even twice a quarter )

 

[Le RickyBobby]

73% game time hopper
77% game time Steele

7 pressure acts - hopper
17 pressure acts - Steele

Steele once every 5.8 minutes
Hopper once every 15 minutes ( not even twice a quarter )

How anyone can defend him is an absolute disgrace. His attitude and application is just not there.

Yze has to show some leadership and send him to the VFL.

 

[Wooden Robot]

But he's shouldering the load, making sure our young and developing players aren't getting smashed out there
Even though the injury list grows by the week.
Why Yze is hitching his wagon to Hopper just defies logic ... a career killer.

 

[captain blood 17]

came out a bit hot, sorry about that. Just frustrated and it came out in my post.

the player mostly likely to win a B & F, is an on baller.

In a list as bad and inconsistant as last years, the stat plodder polled as the third best out five or six players likely to win it. I wouldnt put much weight into last years B & F.

All good mate, i reckon the only thing keeping him in the team is our ratshit injury list. I reckon trade him and salary dump next season. Even if it’s a third rounder coming back to us.

 

[Hoos]

Yze has to show some leadership and send him to the VFL.

He won't. We clearly have 3 types of players who don't fall into Yze's selection integrity model:

1. Premiership players.
2. Non-premiership players on big contracts.
3. 1st round draft picks.

Any player that falls into any of these categories can relax in the knowledge that they will never, ever get dropped for poor form. Only injuries will force them out of the team. And most of the time they never have to come back through the VFL when they are returning from injury. Straight back in. How has this not been questioned?

The blame for this falls squarely on senior coaching staff and football management.

 

[tropicaltiger]

Just an incredible Jacob Hopper stat for you.

Hopper through 4 games 7 tackles

Jack Steel v Gold Coast in round 4 had 8 tackles.

Good stat but this one more interesting in 2025 the top two tacklers (In top 10) of the year25 were both Jacks were shoved out the door by their clubs, Steele and Graham that is.

Even Blind Freddy can see that Hopper has been pathetic this year and Steele excellent, Having a lightening bolt like Pickett and goat ruckman Gawn in there is always going to make your defensive mid sweeper/tackling machine look good.

Agree with everyone else that having Tim, Jacob, Ross and Dion getting supply from a VFL ruckman is a recipe for disaster.

Strongly believe that Adem is biding his time and has temporarily put the cue in the rack until injury subsides and he can blend our new brigade in one by one, as he will phase our 4 tractors out and find new spots for them or put them on the trade table or retire them.

 

[baazzaa]

Good stat but this one more interesting in 2025 the top two tacklers of the year were both Jacks were shoved out the door by their clubs, Steele and Graham that is.

Even Blind Freddy can see that Hopper has been pathetic this year and Steele excellent, Having a lightening bolt like Pickett and goat ruckman Gawn in there is always going to make your defensive mid sweeper/tackling machine look good.

Agree with everyone else that having Tim, Jacob, Ross and Dion getting supply from a VFL ruckman is a recipe for disaster.

Strongly believe that Adem is biding his time and has temporarily put the cue in the rack until injury subsides and he can blend our new brigade in one by one, as he will phase our 4 tractors out and find new spots for them or put them on the trade table or retire them.

I always assumed the tackling stat was nonsense to be honest. Sure MRJ run-downs are worth their weight in gold, but the main way you rack up tackle counts is by trailing your man into the contest and then tackling him. I think Hopper is a very poor player but he does seem to try to get to the ball first more than TT, which is probably one reason his tackle count is much lower.

 

[Cactus_]

Bloody painful watching this bloke play at the moment — just seems to be constantly turning it over

 

[Daka]

He picked us for the money let's be honest,
we were dumb to try and get him he should be at Geelong right now.

 

[tiger_tough]

He picked us for the money let's be honest,
we were dumb to try and get him he should be at Geelong right now.

Harsh to say he came only for the money. He was sold a completely different vision to the one he received. That's not his fault and he has every right to feel hard done by.

I'm not upset that the club went all in to try pinch another flag but the reality is they completely misread the way the game was heading as a whole and the type of player that would get us there. We got him 5 years too late. The game has moved past 'road block' players as Kane Cornes call them. I think you can have one slow inside only contested beast (look at how Steele is going @ the dees), but we have 2, arguably 3 with Prestia/Ross combo too. It does not work.

Taranto has been a great acquisition and an extra 1st round pick and 2nd round pick we could've taken to the draft instead of trading for Hopper might have helped us not completely bottom out like we have, but best case we'd just be stuck in no mans land instead, and that's arguably worse.

Live and learn.

 

[lizard man]

Play him at full forward and get him to use his gut to push his opponents under the ball so he can get the mark and kick the goal like Hawkins

 

[FootyIcon4]

I’d drop Prestia before him, but it’ll never happen for either of them.

Get Dion to his 250th then mid-season retirement to open a spot in the mid-season draft for a mature ruck
Hopper to captain the VFL side this year

 

[Drunken Wookie]

Bloody painful watching this bloke play at the moment — just seems to be constantly turning it over

and its handballs as much as kicks. lost count of how many handballs of his have found an oppo player recently. genuinely reckon he has problems with his sight.

 

[The_Kraken]

Even Blind Freddy can see that Hopper has been pathetic this year and Steele excellent, Having a lightening bolt like Pickett and goat ruckman Gawn in there is always going to make your defensive mid sweeper/tackling machine look good.

Love this observation. Posters comparing apples to oranges are missing the point. Steele is surrounded by elite players and complements their structure. I’m sure Steele would be better than Hopper, but he’d be another slow player at our clearances, easily exploited by faster and classier teams,

 

[The_Kraken]

and its handballs as much as kicks. lost count of how many handballs of his have found an oppo player recently. genuinely reckon he has problems with his sight.

His handballing ain’t winning any Mayfair Hams this year.

 

[Wooden Robot]

Get Dion to his 250th then mid-season retirement to open a spot in the mid-season draft for a mature ruck
Hopper to captain the VFL side this year

About sums us up since 2022.
A charity that's emphasis is on gifting milestones and feel good moments at the expense of development and the future.
If Prestia were to end of 240 games or 241 games, who cares.

 

[Ralll]

Sometimes people don't see a players worth when they're inside doing the grunt work, but those pressure and tackle stats are indefensible.

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Too much negativity, hes only human