Lehi Hopoate (born 26 January 2005) is a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who plays as a er or for the

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

Background

Hopoate is of Tongan descent through his father

John Hopoate John Hopoate (born 16 January 1974 in Tonga) is a former professional rugby league player and boxer who was involved in sport controversies and subsequently convicted for violent crimes. He played rugby league in the Tonga national rugby league ...

who was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, Tongan, and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

State of Origin representative. His older brothers William Hopoate, Jamil Hopoate, and Albert Hopoate also played rugby league professionally. Hopoate attended St Augustine's College at Brookvale and played his junior rugby league for the Beacon Hill Bears, before being signed by the

Playing career

Early years

Hopoate rose through the grades at the

Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

, playing for their

Harold Matthews Cup The NSWRL Harold Matthews Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales between teams made up of players aged under 17. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition is made up ...

and

S. G. Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of male players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne, and Auckland also participate. Prior to the COVID ...

sides, also appearing for the New South Wales under-16s side in 2021.

2024

Hopoate made his first grade debut at fullback in place of the injured Tom Trbojevic in his side's 26–20 victory over the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval, currently known as 4 Pines Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Brookvale, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by the M ...

in round 12 of the

2024 NRL season The 2024 NRL season was the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, followed by a finals series contested by the top eight ...

. In round 19, Hopoate scored two tries for Manly in their 44-6 win over Newcastle. He played a total of 14 games for Manly in the 2024 NRL season, mostly on the wing, as they finished 7th on the table and qualified for the finals. Manly would be eliminated in the second week of the finals by the Sydney Roosters. Lehi Hopoate's form was such that at the 2024 Manly awards night he won the

Ken Arthurson Kenneth Richard "Arko" Arthurson AM (born 1 October 1929) is an Australian rugby league football identity. Affectionately known as "The Godfather of Manly", he played, coached and was later an administrator at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles c ...

Rising Star Award as the clubs Rookie of the Year. Hopoate was then one of four Manly players named in the Tongan squad (along with Tolu Koula,

Haumole Olakau'atu Haumole Olakau'atu (born 1 October 1998) is a Tonga national rugby league team, Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL). Background Olakau'atu wa ...

and Taniela Paseka) for the 2024 Pacific Championships. Playing at fullback, Hopoate made his test debut for Tonga on 18 October against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The Kangaroos won the game 18–0.

2025

In February, Hopoate would extend his contract and be elevated into Manly's top 30 squad. In round 12 of the

2025 NRL season The 2025 NRL season is the 118th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 28th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The regular season will be followed by a finals series contested by the top eight teams on the competiti ...

, Hopoate scored two tries for Manly in their upset 30-10 loss against Parramatta.

Statistics

References

External links

Sea Eagles profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopoate, Lehi 2005 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent Lehi Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league wingers Tonga national rugby league team players 21st-century Australian sportsmen