- Manly star roasted by his own sister over signature
Manly star Lehi Hopoate has copped a cheeky public serve from his sister as she light-heartedly claimed he couldn’t sign his name while he was autographing balls for young footy fans.
Hopoate, 20, has become a pivotal player for the Sea Eagles after breaking into first grade last year.
The electrifying back clearly has a very bright future in the NRL – but his sister Maile thinks he needs to work on his penmanship.
Maile posted an amusing clip to social media of her brother surrounded by footy fans following Manly’s impressive 58-30 win over the Dolphins at 4 Pines Park.
‘All of this hype. All of this effort. All this energy. Just to realise that he doesn’t have a signature yet,’ she wrote.
The final shot in the TikTok clip reveals that Lehi’s signature still has a long way to go.
Maile Hopoate (pictured) has roasted her brother Lehi over his signature
Pictured: The ‘autograph’ Lehi Hopoate was giving his young fans in the video
‘Imagine waiting for a signature that doesn’t exist yet,’ she captioned the clip.
’20 years old & still scribbling nonsense.’
Lehi’s followers told her to go easy on the rising star.
‘Why you gotta expose my guy like that?’ replied one.
‘Leave the young fella alone,’ posted another.
‘Biggest haters are always your siblings,’ remarked a third.
Lehi comes from a solid footy background, with his father John starring for Manly, NSW and Australia.
His older brother Will also played for the Blues and Manly, as well as Parramatta and Canterbury, where he ran out in 124 games for the Dogs before going on to sign with St Helens in England.
The 20-year-old debuted for Manly last year and has impressed on the pitch
Lehi (pictured) played a starring role as Manly kept their slim finals hopes alive with a big win over the Dolphins
Manly’s season looked to be over after four straight defeats, but the trouncing of the Dolphins has left them with a slim hope of making the finals.
The side will have to deliver against the Dragons this weekend at Kogarah – somewhere they haven’t had much joy in recent seasons.
St George are reeling from a loss to the Rabbitohs last week, but usually lift at home in front of the faithful.
A victory for Manly on Saturday could set up a big showdown with the Warriors at Brookvale the following week.
