Jacob Hopper
Australian rules footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jacob Hopper (born 6 February 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for Greater Western Sydney.
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Leeton, New South Wales
| Jacob Hopper | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Hopper with Richmond in April 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Jacob Hopper | ||
| Born |
6 February 1997 Leeton, New South Wales | ||
| Original team | North Ballarat Rebels (TAC Cup)/Leeton-Whitton (RFNL) | ||
| Draft | No. 7, 2015 national draft | ||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Richmond | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2016–2022 | Greater Western Sydney | 114 (42) | |
| 2023– | Richmond | 52 (16) | |
| Total | 166 (58) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 1, 2026 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
Hopper was born in New South Wales[1] and grew up in the small Riverina town of Leeton.[2] He began playing football at the age of four with the Leeton-Whitton Crows where his father coached. He joined Greater Western Sydney's academy program at the age of 13[3] and regularly gained selection for NSW representative teams in the years that followed. He attended school at St Francis de Sales Regional College.[4] At the age of 17, he began boarding at St Patrick's College, Ballarat[5] while playing TAC Cup football for the North Ballarat Rebels.[6]
He was recruited by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with the seventh overall selection in the 2015 national draft.[7]
AFL career
Hopper made his debut in round 8 of the 2016 AFL season, in a 91-point win against Gold Coast at Spotless Stadium. He was rewarded with a nomination for the 2016 AFL Rising Star,[8] after he collected 32 disposals equaling the AFL record (since 1992) for most disposals made on debut (Brisbane Lion Bradd Dalziell's 32 in 2008 the previous highest). and nine clearances.[9][10]
At the conclusion of the 2022 AFL season, Hopper requested a trade to Richmond.[11] He was traded on 11 October.[12]
Statistics
Updated to the end of the 2025 season.[13]
G |
Goals | K |
Kicks | D |
Disposals | T |
Tackles |
B |
Behinds | H |
Handballs | M |
Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2016 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 65 | 107 | 172 | 32 | 33 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 6.5 | 10.7 | 17.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0 |
| 2017 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 89 | 133 | 222 | 35 | 74 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 6.8 | 10.2 | 17.1 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 0 |
| 2018 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 214 | 227 | 441 | 55 | 98 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 10.2 | 10.8 | 21.0 | 2.6 | 4.7 | 0 |
| 2019 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 23 | 10 | 11 | 303 | 296 | 599 | 73 | 95 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 13.2 | 12.9 | 26.0 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 1 |
| 2020[a] | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 159 | 167 | 326 | 40 | 72 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 19.2 | 2.4 | 4.2 | 4 |
| 2021 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 311 | 295 | 606 | 72 | 88 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 13.5 | 12.8 | 26.3 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 15 |
| 2022 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 57 | 78 | 135 | 20 | 21 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 8.1 | 11.1 | 19.3 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Richmond | 22 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 162 | 180 | 342 | 55 | 64 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 10.1 | 11.3 | 21.4 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 1 |
| 2024 | Richmond | 22 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 132 | 153 | 285 | 44 | 41 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 11.0 | 12.8 | 23.8 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 2025 | Richmond | 2 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 257 | 350 | 607 | 75 | 71 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 11.2 | 15.2 | 26.4 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Career | 165 | 58 | 62 | 1749 | 1986 | 3735 | 501 | 657 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 10.6 | 12.0 | 22.6 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 26 | ||
Notes
- The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Honours and achievements
- Greater Western Sydney Giants Academy Player Of The Year: 2015
- 2016 AFL Rising Star: nominee
- Greater Western Sydney Giants Rising Star: 2016
- Brett Kirk Medal: 2019
