Past Rhan Hooper (2006-2009)

[campbell]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I still don't think his Ressies performances have demanded senior selection. Nothing has changed.

When Sherman went back to the ressies his form was poor, but he got another chance last week.

Good luck to Rhan, it shows hard work and tenacity pay off.

 

[Homer Jnr]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Except for McGrath getting injured.

That's helped for sure, but Johnno is back.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Fair enough, I'm from the school of thought that we need to try a few different things given the run of losses we are in and this can't hurt, but you've seen more ressies games than I this season, thus your opinion.

There a few theories abound as to why he has been selected, but regardless, I just hope the lad goes out and performs for us.

The door is open for him to earn back some confidence from supporters and the coaching staff, lets hope he makes the most of it.

Was the best option to fill that Ash McGrath defensive forward role. Though he has been playing more as a midfielder that floats forward in the Ressies. Be interesting to see how he is used.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Hooper fan. I was depressed for days when I thought he'd walked away.

Hope he goes well.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Re: Rhan Hooper

When Sherman went back to the ressies his form was poor, but he got another chance last week.

Good luck to Rhan, it shows hard work and tenacity pay off.

It's interesting what we expect from our guys in the AFLQ and that's to dominate. In reality the gun players who drop back almost always get tagged which Shermo certainly did. I heard him say there were just some aspects of his game that the coaching staff wanted him to work at. He obviously showed them enough application in those areas to deserve a call-up.

I'd say pretty much all of our guys work hard and are tenacious, but they're not always rewarded.

Whil e Rhan may not have been BOG for Suncoast, he's obviously showing the coaching staff what they want to see.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

Lions name Rhan as ban is over

Nick Smart
01Jun07
COACH Leigh Matthews says youngster Rhan Hooper -- who walked out on the club during the pre-season -- has earned his spot after the small forward was a surprise call-up for tomorrow night's Telstra Dome clash with Richmond.
Just days ago, Matthews had claimed that Hooper had `wrecked' his year.
The 19-year-old's career looked over after just 11 games after he went AWOL for two months over the pre-season. He returned to Brisbane and was granted a reprieve after meetings with Matthews and football manager Graeme Allan.
But he was still told in no uncertain terms he faced a lengthy period on the training track before being considered for senior action.
Hooper was also fined 15 per cent of his base salary -- about $7000 -- for abandoning the pre-season program.
Hooper has worked hard over the past few months, and a knee injury to Ashley McGrath last weekend opened the door for Hooper's return.
Asked yesterday if Hooper had worked hard enough in his eyes to warrant selection, Matthews said: "Well, he is in the team. That's pretty obvious, isn't it?
"The position opened up in the sense that Ash McGrath wasn't available and Rhan has played that kind of small forward position. So an opportunity knocked and he was there to get a chance."
The four-time premiership coach told The Gold Coast Bulletin Hooper's speed and awareness around goal made him an obvious candidate to tackle the Tigers.
"He is only a second-year player and he is only a young man who is trying to find his way in footy," said Matthews.
"But he certainly has some leg speed, which complements the Jonathan Browns and the Mitch Clarks and those players that tend to have the height around him."

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Nick Smart
01Jun07
But he was still told in no uncertain terms he faced a lengthy period on the training track before being considered for senior action.
"

You should never start a sentence with a conjunction, Pie Man.

Bloody uneducated Collingwood supporters.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

Hooper's white knight to the rescue
17 June 2007 Sunday Herald Sun
Selina Steele
THE Brisbane Lions have turned to former star Darryl White to help sort out troubled youngster Rhan Hooper.

White, who retired in 2005, met Hooper recently in what will be a continuing mentoring role.
Hooper, 19, played only his first match of the season a fortnight ago after walking out on the club over the summer.
But Hooper, who inherited White's No. 33 jumper, has since shown the Lions he deserved a second chance. Against Richmond in Round 10, he repaid the faith with nine quality touches, including five inside 50s.
The performance prompted the club's hardest marker, coach Leigh Matthews, to comment: "He deserved a recall. We think he is quite a talented young player, but he didn't want to be involved for a couple of months. He's wasted half a season."
On the field, Hooper has always looked at home. It is off the field, he has struggled - hence, the SOS call to triple premiership player and former vice-captain White.
"Craig Lambert (assistant coach) approached me a while ago with a view of playing a role within the club and catching up with all the indigenous boys," White said.
"It's more about chatting to them about how they're going off the field. A lot of the boys don't feel comfortable asking for help - it can be as simple as trying to help them out with transport.
"Take Rhan. He hasn't got a licence, so he's always catching buses and trains to and from Ipswich. This makes it hard for him to get to early recovery sessions and that sort of thing.
"I know how hard it is to adjust to an AFL club - and I'm proof that a leopard can change his spots.
"It's also a chance to chat to them about life skills and stuff they might not feel comfortable about talking to the coaches.
"I'm someone who they can bounce things off and who is never going to judge them. Rhan has always been a good trainer. It was his attendance that was the problem.
"Rhan can do a lot of good things with this club, particularly when you look at where the club is going, but he's going to have to work a bit harder to get respect back."
Hooper, who played 11 games last year, was born in Victoria but moved to Ipswich as a toddler. His mother and sister have since returned to Victoria.
"There's 47 blokes on the list and Rhan has to realise everyone's in the same boat," White said.
"It will take time, but he must have something special for Leigh to have him back."

In need of help: Rhan Hooper.

 

[danielcan]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Hooper in the Army push

7:50 PM Tue 17 July, 2007
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

News

RHAN Hooper has again been recognised for his impressive play with another AFL Army Award nomination.

Hooper displayed outstanding pace in round 15 by running up the ground to apply a brilliant diving spoil to stop Melbourne’s Colin Garland from taking a certain mark.

Lions fans can watch Hooper’s fantastic play and vote for him by clicking here.

New to the 2007 season, the Army Award aims to recognise and reward the one-percenter acts such as game breaking smothers, tackles and shepherds.

At the end of the home and away season, the AFL All-Australian Selection Committee will shortlist the 22 weekly winning acts to six nominations which will then be voted on by the public on afl.com.au. The All-Australian selection committee will then endorse the winner.

In 2007, the AFL Army Award winner will receive a $10,000 Army Experience. The award will be officially presented at the 2007 Coca-Cola All-Australian presentation dinner.​

http://lions.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/5085/Default.aspx?newsId=47475

 

[lionbear]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Well deserved nomination. The way he runs players down and never gives up is a real credit to the way he is playing this year

 

[lionsrock9]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Brilliant effort

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

Brown bettered his six-major haul of last week against the Demons but his individual display was almost overshadowed by effervescent 19-year-old Rhan Hooper who scored his first goals for the season after coming back into favour over the past month.

 

[konstas_87]

Re: Rhan Hooper

rd 16 2007: best game to date

 

[Kochie 16]

Re: Rhan Hooper

rd 16 2007: best game to date

Gotta agree with that!

 

[ZoBlitz]

Re: Rhan Hooper

And he's not just kicking goals, he's actually getting his hands on the ball now which he wasn't really doing last year.

 

[Sherminator.]

Re: Rhan Hooper

rd 16 2007: best game to date

Have to disagree with you, Rd. 17 vs. Pies was his best.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I agree Sherm. Seems to be playing more and more as a midfielder. He's covering a lot of ground and is managing to station himself about 5 metres in front of the pack. He ended up with 23 disposals and 3 goals, but he looked absolutely stuffed.

 

[notting18]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I agree Sherm. Seems to be playing more and more as a midfielder. He's covering a lot of ground and is managing to station himself about 5 metres in front of the pack. He ended up with 23 disposals and 3 goals, but he looked absolutely stuffed.

It can be hard when you have very little of a proper preseason.

 

[konstas_87]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I agree Sherm. Seems to be playing more and more as a midfielder. He's covering a lot of ground and is managing to station himself about 5 metres in front of the pack. He ended up with 23 disposals and 3 goals, but he looked absolutely stuffed.

thats the main difference, hooper was a link man last night, he worked hard to get to the HB flank when needed and actually gathered some touches.

very pleasing

 

[lionbear]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Did Hooper's kick to 50m dropped mark run pick up and goal on Saturday night remind them of a goal kicked by a young number 33 at Carrara in his debut year in 1992?

 

[notting18]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Did Hooper's kick to 50m dropped mark run pick up and goal on Saturday night remind them of a goal kicked by a young number 33 at Carrara in his debut year in 1992?

That play was funny as i put it up there with the Mark Taylor "great" three grab slips catch from years back. It looks great, but only happened because he stuffed up a pretty simple kick to a leading forward/catch.

It was really good to see his desperation to fix up his error though, in the 1st half we only had 6 or 7 less errors than the pies but we seemed to have the will not to let those mistakes hurt us!

 

[Jubair]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I agree Sherm. Seems to be playing more and more as a midfielder. He's covering a lot of ground and is managing to station himself about 5 metres in front of the pack. He ended up with 23 disposals and 3 goals, but he looked absolutely stuffed.

yeah he played the same way when playing for Ipswich, he played more as a winger there but really tore opposition apart with his speed and delivery into leading forwards which he has been showing so far this yr in recent games. Can play well as a linkman as stated in an earlier post.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Nice article from Inside Football.

HOOPER'S MANY HAPPY RETURNS
RUSSELL HOLMESBY 01/08/07

Link to original article.

Rhan Hooper figured he would be consigned to QAFL football this year after his headline-grabbing decision to turn his back on an AFL career before the season started.
“Actually I didn’t think I was going to get a game this year,” Hooper said.
“I thought I would have been in the ressies all year, but I was lucky to sneak through so hopefully I’m not going to stuff up the opportunity that I’ve got.”
Hooper’s lightning pace and ground skills were part of a razor-sharp Brisbane attack that humbled Collingwood last Saturday night and saw him win a career-best 23 possessions.
He booted three goals and had the chance to secure an even bigger haul.
“I actually could have snagged six, but 50 per cent is OK – anything lower would have been a disappointment,” he said.
“The past couple of games I’ve been working on my running and getting to every contest.”
In a refreshingly frank look at his own situation, Hooper said coach Leigh Matthews had not given him any assurances when he returned to the club from his self-imposed exile.
“It was just a case of working from the bottom again,” he said. “I had to have a second pre-season to make up for the one I missed.
“It’s not that hard when you are doing it with a group of boys, but it is hard when you are doing it by yourself because you don’t have your teammates pushing you along. Hopefully I pushed myself hard enough.”
While he is improving each week he realises that things could have been even better.
“I figure if I have a good pre-season, which I missed at the start of the year, just imagine what I could have done towards the end of the year,” Hooper said.
Now he is loving his football and being part of a surging Lions side.
“It sort of clicked when I started getting fit and getting more opportunities to get to the contest and get my hands on it,” he said.
He lit up the MCG last week and was thrilled to play at football’s home.
“Actually the last time I was here I was 10,” Hooper said. “So the ground has changed a fair bit.
“It was awesome – it didn’t have a slippery surface like Telstra Dome, but Telstra is pretty good too because it is usually nice and dry.
“We were lucky with a nice night and no rain.”
Hooper knows that it could have so easily disappeared down the drain for him had he not returned to the club when he did.
“I’m just stoked with the past couple of games,” he said. “I’ve pulled a few good moments out and hopefully that will keep going until the end of the year.
“Hopefully I’m the lucky one getting a second chance. Not many people get that and hopefully I won’t let them down.”
And the turnaround could even culminate in some finals action.
“Why not dare to dream, mate,” Hooper said.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

Matthews mulls Hooper's 'pre-season'

10:47 AM Fri 3 August, 2007
By Laine Clark

AS SATISFYING as exciting youngster Rhan Hooper's AFL comeback has been, Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews still wonders what might have been.
Hooper's much-publicised pre-season walkout for personal reasons set the Queenslander back so far back in the Lions pecking order that Matthews admitted that he may not pick the small forward at all in 2007.
The wily coach named Hooper in the Lions side just days later.
Hooper has since been part of a Brisbane side that has gone on a four-game winning run, keeping their slim finals hopes alive.
His 23-possession, nine-mark, three-goal effort in Brisbane's last round 93-point thrashing of Collingwood was typical of his red-hot form since his return.
Hooper's seven goals in six games is a source of pride for Matthews - and frustration.
"He spent the first half of the season doing his pre-season (because of his walkout). We've got five games to go and he's just got there," Matthews said.
"We are really pleased with what he has done in the last few weeks, but there's 17 rounds gone.
"If he had done his normal pre-season he might have been doing this in the first month of the year and we might have won a few games and we might be in finals."
But Matthews is the first to praise his young charge who only made his AFL debut last season, playing 11 games.
"He's done very well, he's been very impressive. What he's got is good long-distance stamina," he said.
"Not too many have extreme speed and that ability to cover ground.
"He is a forward who can push up forward and still get back so he's been really important."

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I can't help thinking what has happened to Hooper has in fact helped him. Yes, he did miss 2 months, but he has since been working his butt off, and it seems to me his fitness and skills are well above what it would have been if he had taken the normal path.

In fact, the rate of Hooper's improvement makes me wonder whether first and second year players might not be better off going through a similar process. Obviously you don't want them walking out on the club, but maybe an extended preseason with a break in the middle is a better way to fast track a young player's development.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

Rhan wins back respect

Phil Lutton | August 8, 2007 - 4:26PM

Lions co-captain Chris Johnson says prodigal son Rhan Hooper has won back the club's respect after his stunning pre-season walkout.
Ipswich-product Hooper was one of the club's rising stars but shocked the Lions before the season bounced off in anger, turning his back on football citing personal problems and struggling with the demands of life as a fulltime AFL player.
Hooper eventually ended his self-imposed two-month exile, which resulted in a $7000 fine, but was forced to start from scratch with his fitness and prove himself to his coach and team-mates as he played his way back to the seniors.
The speedy 20-year-old forward has resurrected his career in swash-buckling fashion, having been a shining light in the Lions' impressive five-game winning streak with his tackling in the forward line and ability to sneak a goal.
Johnson, who is in line for a return from a long-term injury against Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday, admitted Hooper initially had some work to do to reclaim the respect of his peers but had more than done so with his recent efforts.
"Yeah he certainly has. He missed a fair chunk of the pre-season and that was one of the things he had to come back and do and prove his fitness to the boys," Johnson said.
"He did that at the reserves level for a while and his first couple of weeks wasn't fantastic in the seniors, but it was a good effort.
"But in the last week or two he's really done well. You can see he's getting his full fitness back, his match fitness back and it's positive for him and it's great for our side."
The reclusive Hooper is yet to break his silence about his pre-season crisis, but Johnson said the youngster was more inclined to let actions speak louder than words in demonstrating his commitment to the cause.
"He makes his own destiny when he's running and chasing blokes and tackling them from behind. You see him kick one or two goals but all the goals don't come from the ball sitting in his lap - he works hard to get those sort of goals," Johnson said.
"The guys are really appreciative of what he does running out of the forward line chasing guys down.
"I don't think it was the fact he wasn't enjoying his footy, it's just that he wasn't really committed at the time. Now it's great to see the fans at The Gabba get behind him as well. I think he really appreciates that."

Link

Hardened Hooper wins over Lions

8/08/2007 5:13:30 PM
Marc Fox

Rhan Hooper's enthusiasm for the game has returned, but more importantly the tackle-frenzy teenager has regained the respect of his team-mates.
Brisbane co-captain Chris Johnson has revealed Hooper's dedication since rejoining the club has won over the playing group.
His all-action style in a talent-laden forward line has been a feature of Brisbane's recent resurgence from also-ran to serious finals contender.
The 19-year-old missed the entire NAB Cup campaign as well as the opening nine rounds after walking out on the club in pre-season, citing a waning passion for competitive football.
He was eventually welcomed back into the starting side against Richmond in early June before cementing his position as the club's primary crumbing forward in the team's surprise victory over the Eagles in round 14.
Hooper's return to full fitness and form has coincided with the club's five-match winning streak, a sequence which has kept Brisbane's season alive and might yet produce an unexpected place in the competition's top eight.
And Johnson says Hooper has proved to his team-mates he deserved a second chance.
"He's loving it," said Johnson, who is in contention to replace the injured Ash McGrath for this Saturday's meeting with third-placed Hawthorn.
"He's a guy who makes his own destiny when he's running and chasing blokes and tackling down from behind."
"All the goals don’t come from the ball sitting in his lap. He has to work hard to get those sorts of goals and the guys are really appreciative of what he does."
Hooper pushed Jonathan Brown close for best-on-field against a ragged Carlton two-and-a-half weeks ago with four instinctive majors in his finest display of the year.
He has been deployed up forward alongside Brown, Jared Brennan, Robbie Copeland and Wayde Mills as part of a carefully crafted strategy by coach Leigh Matthews.
"You can just see he's getting his match fitness back," added Johnson, the only remaining player on any AFL club list to have played for Fitzroy.
"So that's a big positive for him and it's great for our side - him running down people from behind, it sort of gets people spooked."