Latest news with #ex-NRL
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
After outcry, ‘world's fiercest' collision sport seeks new markets
DUBAI: Under bright lights and cameras in Dubai, two large men charge at each other down a narrow, plastic pitch, colliding head-on with a bone-jarring thud that sends one of them sprawling. It's the start of a night of thumps, grunts and head injuries at Runit, the rugby-inspired competition that has quickly drawn a social media following and alarm from health experts. The injury-count is high: three of the 12 players are withdrawn with suspected concussion, including a sickening hit that leaves ex-National Rugby League pro Kevin Proctor writhing on the ground. The final ends when Sam 'The Ice Man' Suamili is too dazed to continue, leaving Auckland's Vulangi Olosoni, 26, to celebrate the Aus$200,000 ($130,000) first prize with his overjoyed wife and sister. Organisers have big plans for the Runit Championship League, the brainchild of seven young men from Melbourne who have evolved it from a backyard game to a marketable commodity in a matter of months. Saturday's competition, attended by just a few hundred fans, was backed by several sponsors with a live-stream featuring ex-NRL pro George Burgess, a figurehead for the sport. Its rapid rise has been controversial, however. The event was held in the United Arab Emirates after calls to ban it following trials in New Zealand, where a teenager died playing a copycat version last month. Kevin Proctor receives medical attention after a tackle during the RUNIT Championship League. 'Honourable' According to Lou Sticca, a football agent and consultant promoter who brought the tournament to Dubai, the next stop is the United States. 'It's a contact sport. Americans love contact sport. This is tailor-made,' he told AFP. 'It's two gladiators. It's actually quite honourable. You've got two guys similar size, similar weight. There's a lot of technique,' he added. Runit, which bills itself as the 'world's fiercest new collision sport', is contested on a track 20 metres (65 feet) long and four metres wide. The athletes, typically with a rugby background and the build of a heavyweight boxer, have four runs at each other taking turns to hold a rugby ball. The winner is the man judged to 'dominate' the contest. Two doctors and three other medics were pitchside in Dubai, with two ambulances waiting outside, according to Sticca. The players, mostly New Zealanders, had medical checks including head scans before flying out and will be assessed again on their return, he said. 'We're engaging proper legal experts on concussion and as we grow the sport, we'll get experts in concussion at other sports,' Sticca said. 'We'll do whatever we can to play our part in ensuring the health and safety of our combatants.' 'Unacceptable threat' However, not everyone is convinced. New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Runit a 'dumb thing to do', while the New Zealand Medical Journal said it was 'engineered for injury'. 'It is a ritualized, high-risk physical collision that poses an unacceptable threat to life and wellbeing,' an editorial said this week. 'As trauma clinicians, we warn unequivocally: Run It Straight is a mechanism for significant acute and long-term injury,' the journal added. Concerns over concussion have prompted new measures in several sports including the rugby codes as scores of retired players report serious health problems. Tania Mayne, a Dubai-based neurophysiotherapist who specializes in concussion, said the science was clear on impacts to the head. 'World Rugby has been so outspoken about how a contact should take place in a match,' she told AFP, referring to rugby union's governing body. 'This goes against everything out there.' Mayne added: 'I would just encourage people not to get involved and read what's out there. There's so much information about concussion in sport.' Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive disease caused by repeated blows to the head, is known to trigger violent moods, dementia and depression. Injuries from head knocks have also been linked to disorders such as motor neurone disease, early onset dementia, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. However, Sticca said Runit was being unfairly singled out. 'Any contact sport has got the same issues. It's just that we're only hearing about this because it suits the agenda,' he said. 'We don't care about the critics, we care about the combatants. We care about making Runit a bigger, better sport. Simple as that.' — AFP
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
After outcry, rugby-inspired collision sport seeks new markets
Jordan Simi (left) competes against Kevin Proctor during the RUNIT Championship League in Dubai on June 28. PHOTO: AFP DUBAI – Under bright lights and cameras in Dubai, two large men charge at each other down a narrow, plastic pitch, colliding head-on with a bone-jarring thud that sends one of them sprawling. It's the start of a night of thumps, grunts and head injuries at Runit, the rugby-inspired competition that has quickly drawn a social media following and alarm from health experts. The injury-count is high: three of the 12 players are withdrawn with suspected concussion, including a sickening hit that leaves ex-National Rugby League pro Kevin Proctor writhing on the ground. The final ends when Sam 'The Ice Man' Suamili is too dazed to continue, leaving Auckland's Vulangi Olosoni, 26, to celebrate the Aus$200,000 first prize with his overjoyed wife and sister. Organisers have big plans for the Runit Championship League, the brainchild of seven young men from Melbourne who have evolved it from a backyard game to a marketable commodity in a matter of months. The June 28 competition, attended by just a few hundred fans, was backed by several sponsors with a live-stream featuring ex-NRL pro George Burgess, a figurehead for the sport. Its rapid rise has been controversial, however. The event was held in the United Arab Emirates after calls to ban it following trials in New Zealand, where a teenager died playing a copycat version last month. According to Lou Sticca, a football agent and consultant promoter who brought the tournament to Dubai, the next stop is the United States. 'It's a contact sport. Americans love contact sport. This is tailor-made,' he told AFP. 'It's two gladiators. It's actually quite honourable. You've got two guys similar size, similar weight. There's a lot of technique,' he added. Runit, which bills itself as the 'world's fiercest new collision sport', is contested on a track 20 metres long and four metres wide. The athletes, typically with a rugby background and the build of a heavyweight boxer, have four runs at each other taking turns to hold a rugby ball. The winner is the man judged to 'dominate' the contest. Two doctors and three other medics were pitchside in Dubai, with two ambulances waiting outside, according to Sticca. The players, mostly New Zealanders, had medical checks including head scans before flying out and will be assessed again on their return, he said. 'We're engaging proper legal experts on concussion and as we grow the sport, we'll get experts in concussion at other sports,' Sticca said. 'We'll do whatever we can to play our part in ensuring the health and safety of our combatants.' However, not everyone is convinced. New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Runit a 'dumb thing to do', while the New Zealand Medical Journal said it was 'engineered for injury'. 'It is a ritualised, high-risk physical collision that poses an unacceptable threat to life and wellbeing,' an editorial said this week. 'As trauma clinicians, we warn unequivocally: Run It Straight is a mechanism for significant acute and long-term injury,' the journal added. Concerns over concussion have prompted new measures in several sports including the rugby codes as scores of retired players report serious health problems. Tania Mayne, a Dubai-based neurophysiotherapist who specialises in concussion, said the science was clear on impacts to the head. 'World Rugby has been so outspoken about how a contact should take place in a match,' she told AFP, referring to rugby union's governing body. 'This goes against everything out there.' Mayne added: 'I would just encourage people not to get involved and read what's out there. There's so much information about concussion in sport.' Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive disease caused by repeated blows to the head, is known to trigger violent moods, dementia and depression. Injuries from head knocks have also been linked to disorders such as motor neurone disease, early onset dementia, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. However, Sticca said Runit was being unfairly singled out. 'Any contact sport has got the same issues. It's just that we're only hearing about this because it suits the agenda,' he said. 'We don't care about the critics, we care about the combatants. We care about making Runit a bigger, better sport. Simple as that.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Preston's NRLW Bulldogs dream decades in the making
When Tayla Preston became Canterbury's inaugural NRLW signing, her mother went out to the garage and rummaged around for a specific family treasure from 20 years earlier. The last time Canterbury won the NRL premiership in 2004, the Preston family - Canterbury tragics living in Bulldogs heartland - had framed a signed poster of the iconic team. NRL legends Sonny Bill Williams, Jonathan Thurston, Hazem El Masri and Willie Mason were in the team that pipped the Sydney Roosters in a classic grand final that day. Two decades on, the Prestons hung the photo frame back up in the family home as a reminder of what Tayla could achieve blazing a trail with the club's first NRLW team. "We kind of said, 'We'll have to put that up around the house to set a goal'," Tayla Preston told AAP ahead of round one this weekend. "It's pretty cool to be able to look at that. I'd love to be able to lift the trophy up for the Bulldogs one day." Along with the Warriors, Canterbury are one of two new NRLW franchises pushing the competition to 12 teams this season. But for co-captain and playmaker Preston, playing for the Bulldogs is an opportunity many years in the making. She grew up playing touch football and idolising the likes of Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson and Josh Morris as they wore the famous blue-and-white strip. Her brother Jarryd was as keen a Canterbury fan, too, and used to run around wearing a pair of Mason's oversized footy shorts he'd been gifted after a game when the siblings were young. Tayla has since crossed paths with Mason when he's dropped into training for the NSW Women's Premiership team. "I wasn't game enough to tell him we had a pair of his shorts at home. Maybe one day," she said with a laugh. So after a lifetime dreaming of playing for the Bulldogs at first-grade level, Preston is determined to make her chance count. Preston insists a grand final appearance, just like that one from 2004, should not be off the cards for the youthful Dogs roster coached by ex-NRL player Brayden Wiliame. Veteran prop Holli Wheeler, co-captain alongside Preston, and Kiwi Ferns trio Alexis Tauaneai, Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa and Ashleigh Quinlan will be essential to helping Canterbury realise that goal. "There's no reason why we can't be there on grand final day. We believe we've got the squad to do so," Preston said. "For us it's just about building that legacy and holding those standards really high for the young girls to be able to see there's a proper pathway now and they can play for the club that they idolise too." When Tayla Preston became Canterbury's inaugural NRLW signing, her mother went out to the garage and rummaged around for a specific family treasure from 20 years earlier. The last time Canterbury won the NRL premiership in 2004, the Preston family - Canterbury tragics living in Bulldogs heartland - had framed a signed poster of the iconic team. NRL legends Sonny Bill Williams, Jonathan Thurston, Hazem El Masri and Willie Mason were in the team that pipped the Sydney Roosters in a classic grand final that day. Two decades on, the Prestons hung the photo frame back up in the family home as a reminder of what Tayla could achieve blazing a trail with the club's first NRLW team. "We kind of said, 'We'll have to put that up around the house to set a goal'," Tayla Preston told AAP ahead of round one this weekend. "It's pretty cool to be able to look at that. I'd love to be able to lift the trophy up for the Bulldogs one day." Along with the Warriors, Canterbury are one of two new NRLW franchises pushing the competition to 12 teams this season. But for co-captain and playmaker Preston, playing for the Bulldogs is an opportunity many years in the making. She grew up playing touch football and idolising the likes of Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson and Josh Morris as they wore the famous blue-and-white strip. Her brother Jarryd was as keen a Canterbury fan, too, and used to run around wearing a pair of Mason's oversized footy shorts he'd been gifted after a game when the siblings were young. Tayla has since crossed paths with Mason when he's dropped into training for the NSW Women's Premiership team. "I wasn't game enough to tell him we had a pair of his shorts at home. Maybe one day," she said with a laugh. So after a lifetime dreaming of playing for the Bulldogs at first-grade level, Preston is determined to make her chance count. Preston insists a grand final appearance, just like that one from 2004, should not be off the cards for the youthful Dogs roster coached by ex-NRL player Brayden Wiliame. Veteran prop Holli Wheeler, co-captain alongside Preston, and Kiwi Ferns trio Alexis Tauaneai, Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa and Ashleigh Quinlan will be essential to helping Canterbury realise that goal. "There's no reason why we can't be there on grand final day. We believe we've got the squad to do so," Preston said. "For us it's just about building that legacy and holding those standards really high for the young girls to be able to see there's a proper pathway now and they can play for the club that they idolise too." When Tayla Preston became Canterbury's inaugural NRLW signing, her mother went out to the garage and rummaged around for a specific family treasure from 20 years earlier. The last time Canterbury won the NRL premiership in 2004, the Preston family - Canterbury tragics living in Bulldogs heartland - had framed a signed poster of the iconic team. NRL legends Sonny Bill Williams, Jonathan Thurston, Hazem El Masri and Willie Mason were in the team that pipped the Sydney Roosters in a classic grand final that day. Two decades on, the Prestons hung the photo frame back up in the family home as a reminder of what Tayla could achieve blazing a trail with the club's first NRLW team. "We kind of said, 'We'll have to put that up around the house to set a goal'," Tayla Preston told AAP ahead of round one this weekend. "It's pretty cool to be able to look at that. I'd love to be able to lift the trophy up for the Bulldogs one day." Along with the Warriors, Canterbury are one of two new NRLW franchises pushing the competition to 12 teams this season. But for co-captain and playmaker Preston, playing for the Bulldogs is an opportunity many years in the making. She grew up playing touch football and idolising the likes of Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson and Josh Morris as they wore the famous blue-and-white strip. Her brother Jarryd was as keen a Canterbury fan, too, and used to run around wearing a pair of Mason's oversized footy shorts he'd been gifted after a game when the siblings were young. Tayla has since crossed paths with Mason when he's dropped into training for the NSW Women's Premiership team. "I wasn't game enough to tell him we had a pair of his shorts at home. Maybe one day," she said with a laugh. So after a lifetime dreaming of playing for the Bulldogs at first-grade level, Preston is determined to make her chance count. Preston insists a grand final appearance, just like that one from 2004, should not be off the cards for the youthful Dogs roster coached by ex-NRL player Brayden Wiliame. Veteran prop Holli Wheeler, co-captain alongside Preston, and Kiwi Ferns trio Alexis Tauaneai, Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa and Ashleigh Quinlan will be essential to helping Canterbury realise that goal. "There's no reason why we can't be there on grand final day. We believe we've got the squad to do so," Preston said. "For us it's just about building that legacy and holding those standards really high for the young girls to be able to see there's a proper pathway now and they can play for the club that they idolise too."
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
After outcry, rugby-inspired collision sport seeks new markets
It's the start of a night of thumps, grunts and head injuries at Runit, the rugby-inspired competition that has quickly drawn a social media following and alarm from health experts. The injury-count is high: three of the 12 players are withdrawn with suspected concussion, including a sickening hit that leaves ex-National Rugby League pro Kevin Proctor writhing on the ground. The final ends when Sam "The Ice Man" Suamili is too dazed to continue, leaving Auckland's Vulangi Olosoni, 26, to celebrate the Aus$200,000 ($130,000) first prize with his overjoyed wife and sister. Organisers have big plans for the Runit Championship League, the brainchild of seven young men from Melbourne who have evolved it from a backyard game to a marketable commodity in a matter of months. Saturday's competition, attended by just a few hundred fans, was backed by several sponsors with a live-stream featuring ex-NRL pro George Burgess, a figurehead for the sport. Its rapid rise has been controversial, however. The event was held in the United Arab Emirates after calls to ban it following trials in New Zealand, where a teenager died playing a copycat version last month. 'Honourable' According to Lou Sticca, a football agent and consultant promoter who brought the tournament to Dubai, the next stop is the United States. "It's a contact sport. Americans love contact sport. This is tailor-made," he told AFP. "It's two gladiators. It's actually quite honourable. You've got two guys similar size, similar weight. There's a lot of technique," he added. Runit, which bills itself as the "world's fiercest new collision sport", is contested on a track 20 metres (65 feet) long and four metres wide. The athletes, typically with a rugby background and the build of a heavyweight boxer, have four runs at each other taking turns to hold a rugby ball. The winner is the man judged to "dominate" the contest. Two doctors and three other medics were pitchside in Dubai, with two ambulances waiting outside, according to Sticca. The players, mostly New Zealanders, had medical checks including head scans before flying out and will be assessed again on their return, he said. "We're engaging proper legal experts on concussion and as we grow the sport, we'll get experts in concussion at other sports," Sticca said. "We'll do whatever we can to play our part in ensuring the health and safety of our combatants." 'Unacceptable threat to life' However, not everyone is convinced. New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Runit a "dumb thing to do", while the New Zealand Medical Journal said it was "engineered for injury". "It is a ritualised, high-risk physical collision that poses an unacceptable threat to life and wellbeing," an editorial said this week. "As trauma clinicians, we warn unequivocally: Run It Straight is a mechanism for significant acute and long-term injury," the journal added. Concerns over concussion have prompted new measures in several sports including the rugby codes as scores of retired players report serious health problems. Tania Mayne, a Dubai-based neurophysiotherapist who specialises in concussion, said the science was clear on impacts to the head. "World Rugby has been so outspoken about how a contact should take place in a match," she told AFP, referring to rugby union's governing body. "This goes against everything out there." Mayne added: "I would just encourage people not to get involved and read what's out there. There's so much information about concussion in sport." Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive disease caused by repeated blows to the head, is known to trigger violent moods, dementia and depression. Injuries from head knocks have also been linked to disorders such as motor neurone disease, early onset dementia, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. However, Sticca said Runit was being unfairly singled out. "Any contact sport has got the same issues. It's just that we're only hearing about this because it suits the agenda," he said. "We don't care about the critics, we care about the combatants. We care about making Runit a bigger, better sport. Simple as that."
The Advertiser
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
From $155m drug sting to bush footy: Ex-NRL revealed as signing after released from jail
One of the most well-known surnames in rugby league is now part of the Peter McDonald Premiership. The Nyngan Tigers have confirmed ex-NRL player Jamil Hopoate has signed on for the rest of the 2025 season. The signing is a hugely controversial one, given Hopoate was only released from jail last October after serving more than two years in jail for a commercial drug supply charge. The Tigers are aware some will criticise the signing, but the club has been impressed by the 30-year-old in a number of conversations. The signing and move to Nyngan also had to be cleared by NSW Police, given Hopoate remains on parole. Nyngan co-captain-coach James Tuitahi has known Hopoate since the pair were both teenagers, and they also spent time together in the lower grades at Parramatta and Manly. "He's been in the media for the wrong reasons, but he's doing well now," Tuitahi said. "Everyone has a past, but it seems like he's really making a positive change. "There had to be meetings beforehand, and like any signing, it's about the bigger picture, and it's not just about footy. It's about the character of the people we're going to sign, which is a big thing for us. "He's trying to turn his life around, he's got two kids, and hopefully he'll learn a bit from these fellas out here." Hopoate is the son of rugby league bad boy John Hopoate, while his brothers William and Albert have also played in the NRL. Jamil played 12 games for the Brisbane Broncos before being released at the end of the 2020 season and his professional career was littered with controversies. Police said Hopoate was a person of "reasonable significance" in a plot to import more than half a tonne of cocaine. He was accused of being part of a trio, who were charged over a massive 514 kilogram haul of cocaine, which was hidden in a consignment of toolboxes sent to Sydney. The drugs had an estimated street value of almost $155 million. He was most recently arrested at gunpoint in 2021 after a police operation that involved swapping the 8kg of cocaine Hopoate was transporting with a fake substance. The NSW district court heard Hopoate was paid $10,000 to be a courier. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to seven offences, including two counts of common assault - domestic violence. He was eventually jailed for three months after breaching the terms of his intensive corrections order. That came after he was previously sent to prison for at least one year for an unprovoked attack outside a Manly pub in 2014. Those charges and other negative headlines resulted in him being sacked at Parramatta and Manly before playing an NRL match at either club. Hopoate hasn't played rugby league since being released from jail, but it's hoped the move to Nyngan can benefit both player and club. The backrower will remain living in Sydney and travel to play for the Tigers each week. Tuitahi and the club are hopeful time in the country and getting back to footy will help the 30-year-old as he continues to work to make amends. For the Tigers, Hopoate provides a much-needed shot of experience and boosts the club's depleted depth. The Tuitahi and Jacob Neill-led side has struggled with injuries in 2025 and currently sits one point outside the top eight after eight rounds. Nyngan has struggled to field the same halves combination in two successive weeks so far this season, while talented young backrower Cale Dunn will likely miss the rest of the campaign due to a knee injury. "He brings a bit more experience, and it will just give confidence to the other boys," Tuitahi said. "We definitely have the team (to play finals), it's just the injuries that have knocked us around. "We're lucky we've had the numbers, but we haven't had the experience, so it's a massive boost to have Jamil on board." Tuitahi said the club would be open to extending Hopoate's deal beyond this season should he impress on and off the field. Hopoate will make his debut for Nyngan on Sunday, June 22, when the Tigers head to Forbes to take on the competition leaders. One of the most well-known surnames in rugby league is now part of the Peter McDonald Premiership. The Nyngan Tigers have confirmed ex-NRL player Jamil Hopoate has signed on for the rest of the 2025 season. The signing is a hugely controversial one, given Hopoate was only released from jail last October after serving more than two years in jail for a commercial drug supply charge. The Tigers are aware some will criticise the signing, but the club has been impressed by the 30-year-old in a number of conversations. The signing and move to Nyngan also had to be cleared by NSW Police, given Hopoate remains on parole. Nyngan co-captain-coach James Tuitahi has known Hopoate since the pair were both teenagers, and they also spent time together in the lower grades at Parramatta and Manly. "He's been in the media for the wrong reasons, but he's doing well now," Tuitahi said. "Everyone has a past, but it seems like he's really making a positive change. "There had to be meetings beforehand, and like any signing, it's about the bigger picture, and it's not just about footy. It's about the character of the people we're going to sign, which is a big thing for us. "He's trying to turn his life around, he's got two kids, and hopefully he'll learn a bit from these fellas out here." Hopoate is the son of rugby league bad boy John Hopoate, while his brothers William and Albert have also played in the NRL. Jamil played 12 games for the Brisbane Broncos before being released at the end of the 2020 season and his professional career was littered with controversies. Police said Hopoate was a person of "reasonable significance" in a plot to import more than half a tonne of cocaine. He was accused of being part of a trio, who were charged over a massive 514 kilogram haul of cocaine, which was hidden in a consignment of toolboxes sent to Sydney. The drugs had an estimated street value of almost $155 million. He was most recently arrested at gunpoint in 2021 after a police operation that involved swapping the 8kg of cocaine Hopoate was transporting with a fake substance. The NSW district court heard Hopoate was paid $10,000 to be a courier. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to seven offences, including two counts of common assault - domestic violence. He was eventually jailed for three months after breaching the terms of his intensive corrections order. That came after he was previously sent to prison for at least one year for an unprovoked attack outside a Manly pub in 2014. Those charges and other negative headlines resulted in him being sacked at Parramatta and Manly before playing an NRL match at either club. Hopoate hasn't played rugby league since being released from jail, but it's hoped the move to Nyngan can benefit both player and club. The backrower will remain living in Sydney and travel to play for the Tigers each week. Tuitahi and the club are hopeful time in the country and getting back to footy will help the 30-year-old as he continues to work to make amends. For the Tigers, Hopoate provides a much-needed shot of experience and boosts the club's depleted depth. The Tuitahi and Jacob Neill-led side has struggled with injuries in 2025 and currently sits one point outside the top eight after eight rounds. Nyngan has struggled to field the same halves combination in two successive weeks so far this season, while talented young backrower Cale Dunn will likely miss the rest of the campaign due to a knee injury. "He brings a bit more experience, and it will just give confidence to the other boys," Tuitahi said. "We definitely have the team (to play finals), it's just the injuries that have knocked us around. "We're lucky we've had the numbers, but we haven't had the experience, so it's a massive boost to have Jamil on board." Tuitahi said the club would be open to extending Hopoate's deal beyond this season should he impress on and off the field. Hopoate will make his debut for Nyngan on Sunday, June 22, when the Tigers head to Forbes to take on the competition leaders. One of the most well-known surnames in rugby league is now part of the Peter McDonald Premiership. The Nyngan Tigers have confirmed ex-NRL player Jamil Hopoate has signed on for the rest of the 2025 season. The signing is a hugely controversial one, given Hopoate was only released from jail last October after serving more than two years in jail for a commercial drug supply charge. The Tigers are aware some will criticise the signing, but the club has been impressed by the 30-year-old in a number of conversations. The signing and move to Nyngan also had to be cleared by NSW Police, given Hopoate remains on parole. Nyngan co-captain-coach James Tuitahi has known Hopoate since the pair were both teenagers, and they also spent time together in the lower grades at Parramatta and Manly. "He's been in the media for the wrong reasons, but he's doing well now," Tuitahi said. "Everyone has a past, but it seems like he's really making a positive change. "There had to be meetings beforehand, and like any signing, it's about the bigger picture, and it's not just about footy. It's about the character of the people we're going to sign, which is a big thing for us. "He's trying to turn his life around, he's got two kids, and hopefully he'll learn a bit from these fellas out here." Hopoate is the son of rugby league bad boy John Hopoate, while his brothers William and Albert have also played in the NRL. Jamil played 12 games for the Brisbane Broncos before being released at the end of the 2020 season and his professional career was littered with controversies. Police said Hopoate was a person of "reasonable significance" in a plot to import more than half a tonne of cocaine. He was accused of being part of a trio, who were charged over a massive 514 kilogram haul of cocaine, which was hidden in a consignment of toolboxes sent to Sydney. The drugs had an estimated street value of almost $155 million. He was most recently arrested at gunpoint in 2021 after a police operation that involved swapping the 8kg of cocaine Hopoate was transporting with a fake substance. The NSW district court heard Hopoate was paid $10,000 to be a courier. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to seven offences, including two counts of common assault - domestic violence. He was eventually jailed for three months after breaching the terms of his intensive corrections order. That came after he was previously sent to prison for at least one year for an unprovoked attack outside a Manly pub in 2014. Those charges and other negative headlines resulted in him being sacked at Parramatta and Manly before playing an NRL match at either club. Hopoate hasn't played rugby league since being released from jail, but it's hoped the move to Nyngan can benefit both player and club. The backrower will remain living in Sydney and travel to play for the Tigers each week. Tuitahi and the club are hopeful time in the country and getting back to footy will help the 30-year-old as he continues to work to make amends. For the Tigers, Hopoate provides a much-needed shot of experience and boosts the club's depleted depth. The Tuitahi and Jacob Neill-led side has struggled with injuries in 2025 and currently sits one point outside the top eight after eight rounds. Nyngan has struggled to field the same halves combination in two successive weeks so far this season, while talented young backrower Cale Dunn will likely miss the rest of the campaign due to a knee injury. "He brings a bit more experience, and it will just give confidence to the other boys," Tuitahi said. "We definitely have the team (to play finals), it's just the injuries that have knocked us around. "We're lucky we've had the numbers, but we haven't had the experience, so it's a massive boost to have Jamil on board." Tuitahi said the club would be open to extending Hopoate's deal beyond this season should he impress on and off the field. Hopoate will make his debut for Nyngan on Sunday, June 22, when the Tigers head to Forbes to take on the competition leaders.
