- Will Hopoate is preparing to be a father again
- Premiership winner played for a host of NRL clubs
- Also had two years out of the game on a religious mission
The wife of former NRL star Will Hopoate has revealed she is pregnant – and the couple’s sixth child will be their last.
Jimi Hopoate posted a photo on Instagram recently featuring herself, son Ammon and the 2011 premiership winner with the Sea Eagles.
The caption read: ‘Ammon’s going to be a big brother. Baby #6 (and last) arriving November. It’s a girl.’
Hopoate’s childhood friend and fellow footy player Michael Oldfield was quick to congratulate the couple – and joked: ‘only six to go to take the lead’, referencing Will’s parents John and Brenda Hopoate famously having 11 children.
Mrs Hopoate playfully said in response: ‘No, no, no. I’m done.’
A schoolboy prodigy, Hopoate made his first grade debut in 2010 with Manly, winning a premiership the following season after also playing Origin for the NSW Blues.
The wife of former NRL star Will Hopoate has revealed she is pregnant – and the couple’s sixth child will be their last (pictured, with their latest baby scan)
Will and Jimi Hopoate with their five children (pictured, at Christmas last year) – a sixth will arrive in November
He then stunned rugby league fans after stepping away from professional footy and spending two years on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is a common undertaking for young Mormons.
In 2014, Hopoate returned to the NRL, signing with Parramatta before joining the Bulldogs ahead of the 2016 season.
Next was a move abroad to St Helens, where Hopoate won an English Super League title in his first season at the club in 2022.
Now happily retired, Hopoate is working with the Sydney Roosters’ rising junior stars.
‘I’m doing some work with the Roosters in the pathways, in the wellbeing space,’ Hopoate told James Graham’s The Bye Round podcast in January last year.
‘When I knew I was finishing up, I contacted some of the people I knew in the NRL that are in the wellbeing space and said if there is something that comes up, let me know.
‘I enjoy working with the younger generation and this opportunity came up so I’m grateful to the club for allowing me to do this.
‘I help the boys with things off the field. As a footy player when things off the field are flourishing, you are able to train and play better.
‘I’m striving to have an impact on that space.’
Hopoate is also running his own business Will to Succeed, where he visits schools and businesses in a self development facilitator role.
