Hoppa banned and sacked

[Super Cronk]

hoppa has been suspended for 17 matches and sacked from manly.

[steaming stormer]

Good Riddance

[Surandy]

Good Riddance

I thought the same thing when Wests sacked him, only to have Manly pick him up. Will anyone pick him up this time? I sure as hell hope not!!!

[Christabella]

Good Riddance

I thought the same thing when Wests sacked him, only to have Manly pick him up. Will anyone pick him up this time? I sure as hell hope not!!!

No, only Manly are stupid enough to give guys like him a second chance ... he's not the only one they have signed after problems recently: Terry Hill, Andrew Walker, Kevin McGuiness, Solomon Haumono ... the list goes on!

[Buzz]

Still a little surprised by the outcome. I'm still not sure if Hoppa's actions were worse or "less-worse" than Danny's?

Is a retaliatory come-from-behind hit worse than a 35m-cross-field run and jump elbow to the head? If record comes into it, Danny was no angel - but Hoppa is the devil's cousin compared to Danny.

[bunnies]

Hopoate sacked after 17-match suspension
21:44 AEDT Tue Mar 22 2005


Manly has ended John Hopoate's controversial rugby league career, dramatically sacking the former NSW and Australian winger only minutes after he was suspended by the NRL judiciary for 17 matches.

Chief executive Paul Cummings read a prepared statement in which he said the club had no choice but to terminate Hopoate's one-year deal.

"Given the player's previous record, the board of the club was left with no alternative but to take the action it did following a charge of striking imposed on Hopoate by the NRL video review committee yesterday," the statement said.

"The decision reached is unfortunate for both the player and the club."

An emotionless Hopoate, who declined to talk to the media, stood in the background alongside his mother Mele and a family friend as his manager Wayne Beavis also read a prepared statement in which he said the 31-year-old bore no ill-feeling towards the club.

"John has asked me to again publicly apologise on his behalf to Keith Galloway and his family for the incident that has led to his suspension," Beavis said.


"John bears no resentment at the Manly club's decision to terminate his contract and wishes the Sea Eagles continued good luck for the remainder of the season.

"Sadly John's somewhat brilliant and turbulent career has come to an unfortunate end tonight."

It was the culmination of a career unlike any other in modern rugby league.

Hopoate was left with little option but to retire as rival NRL clubs distanced themselves from rugby league's bad boy.

The Tongan World Cup player appeared in two Tests for Australia and one State of Origin game for NSW but those highs were overshadowed by the lows - several visits to the judiciary including his infamous suspension for inserting his fingers in the anuses of opponents.

Hopoate was on a hiding to nothing tonight.

The judiciary panel - Royce Ayliffe, Jeff Hardy and Scott Tronc - took just over 30 minutes to reach their verdict, handing down the second longest sentence in NRL history following Hopoate's high shot on Cronulla's Galloway at Brookvale Oval on Sunday.

Hopoate's defence counsel Alan Sullivan QC had argued it was a case of a shoulder charge gone wrong.

Providing evidence in his defence, Hopoate, wearing a dark suit and green short-sleeved shirt, said he had attempted to make a big hit - a shooter - on Galloway but had misjudged the tackle.

"I'm trying to go for a shoulder charge, we call it a shooter," Hopoate said.

"You come out of the line and try to force an error and put on a big hit that lifts the team and tries to disrupt the other team's go-forward.

"I didn't mean to go that high. It was a clumsy tackle. I just misjudged it. I was raising my arm to protect my ribs."

Sullivan also revealed Hopoate had apologised to Galloway on at least three occasions and provided a letter which the perennial bad boy had written.

The letter stated: "During my career I have always tried to play hard and tough but fair. And I can honestly say that is all I was trying to do when I tried to shoulder charge Keith Galloway.

"It went wrong and I will now suffer the consequences but I know in my heart there was no intention to do anything outside the rules."

However, his contrition carried little weight with the panel.

Neither did evidence from his coach Des Hasler, who had described Hopoate's tackle as "careless and clumsy", said it left little room for error and played down comparisons with the Clint Newton elbow last season, which resulted in the Newcastle forward receiving a 12-match ban.

"The execution of this tackle was clumsy and careless and in my opinion John misjudged the tackle," Hasler said.

"Further in my opinion before and at the point of contact John's eyes are closed before he left the ground. It was my opinion that Mr Hopoate had no intention to cause an injury to the player's head.

"His arm is raised for self-preservation to his own ribs.

"Given the nature of the tackle and the high velocity ... there's a very low margin for error."

"I would expect if Mr Hopoate, if he was to cause injury or attempt to strike the player high, his eyes would be open and his elbow would be above the perpendicular, he would be leading with the point of the elbow, similar to what you saw with Newton."

Judiciary prosecutor Paul Conlon also compared the tackle to that of Newton's last season and pointed out Hopoate's previous record, which included five appearances at the judiciary resulting in 28 weeks worth of suspensions dating back to 1998.

"However, in relation to Mr Hopoate's case what must be factored into the equation ... is a record which must be classed as a really appalling record in rugby league."

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= GONESKIES

WOOHOO!


STORMBOY

[Super Cronk]

Still a little surprised by the outcome. I'm still not sure if Hoppa's actions were worse or "less-worse" than Danny's?

Is a retaliatory come-from-behind hit worse than a 35m-cross-field run and jump elbow to the head? If record comes into it, Danny was no angel - but Hoppa is the devil's cousin compared to Danny.

*cough* from behind?

and yeah it isnt only this incident ...its all the incidents..all the last chances he has had put into 1.....he was told by manly..if you stuff once more then he will get the boot...and he did....

[Insomniac]

And this comes only a week after receiving a warning from the club regarding the abuse he directed towards a ball boy - Manly would've looked real stupid if they'd done anything less (I mean more stupid than giving him another chance to start with!).

[TC]

Good riddance.

I'd love to see something added to his punishment though.
If they're doing the NRL roadtrain this year, Hoppa should travel with it......




.....in stocks! With rancid fruit provided for people to throw at him.
It would be some form of justice for the fans and might teach him how loathsome his behaviour has been.




Hmmm.....thumbscrews.....

[Insomniac]

I feel sorry for his kids... there's 8 of them isn't there??

[thinga87]

Let's hope the NRL does the right thing to, in the off chance Hoppa tries to make a comeback they stop it early by publically saying they will not register any contract a club might offer him.

I wonder will he uproot his family though and try to play in the Super League.

Hoppa

[Stubbsie]

Finally. You would think he would have learnt he lesson over the years of bringing the game into disripute. Only manly would sign Him.