Past Rhan Hooper (2006-2009)

[Vipertooth]

Re: Rhan Hooper

OMG please no

I really hope Hooper does not leave, we looked after him in his time of need, and now he wants to leave? I hope its not true.

If hes worried about money, doesnt he relise the better he gets the more money will will pay him, and that will significantly rise when we win our next premiership soon, I doubt that in his career Richmond will even make it 2 the cup.

PLEASE STAY HOOPER, you are one of my favs!!!

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

He (Greg Miller) said the club was "hopeful" of attracting Brisbane livewire Rhan Hooper south, although he believed the gifted left-footer would remain in the Lions' den.

Link

Rhan Hooper probably staying.

Link

BRISBANE LIONS: May struggle to stop Rhan Hooper from going to Richmond.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Rhan Hooper

C'mon Rhan.

The Gabba crowd loves you. Don't break our heart.

 

[Bobby Beecroft]

Re: Rhan Hooper

C'mon Rhan.

The Gabba crowd loves you. Don't break our heart.

As does the Southern Crew.
Stick with us Rhan.

 

[Kyusss]

Re: Rhan Hooper

probably not the most popular team to be on this board but just wondering where this bloke is at
is it as simple as this

Has all the talent in the world but who knows where his heads at !

Hope i can get an answer and not just remarks on how crap we are

 

[xplo]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Sorry guys.

But just to ask how cant you fit Rhan Hooper in at 500K over 3 years. The reports seem to say you cant fit that into your salary cap?

Doesnt make sense to me. Sure Lappin, Black and Jono Brown would cost alot but you have a team full of young players now who I thought would be on reletively small contracts leaving some space. Its only 170k odd a year.

I agree actually. $170k a year isn't that much. I'd be surprised if Shermo and Rischi weren't on over 200K, so how could we be offering him far less that that?

We've lost Voss's, CJs and Brad Scott's payments -- all would have been in the 300k+ mark.

If Richmond were offering him 250K+ a year for three we'd have to think twice, but I honestly don't believe the Tigers could possibly be stealing a big break on us by throwing 170k per year at him.

 

[Bobby Beecroft]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I actually thought the average player payment was around $200k a season.
When I saw the Tiges offer I did think we should be able to match it.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Just picked up this quote on the AFL.com website

"Meanwhile, the Tigers, according to Miller, have had little action so far this week.He said the club was "hopeful" of attracting Brisbane livewire Rhan Hooper south, although he believed the gifted left-footer would remain in the Lions' den."

 

[Tim the Toolman]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I've said it before, Hooper is a loose cannon off the field and he needs a reality check and methinks we should get something for him before he walks big time.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Just on 3aw - Hooper re-signed with the Lions.

Awesome news!!!!!!!

Bad luck Richmond

 

[Sherminator.]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Awesome news!!!!!!!

2 year deal I hope, at least.

 

[Vipertooth]

Re: Rhan Hooper

THIS IS AWSOME NEWS, ONE OF MY FAVS

GO HOOPER

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Rhan Hooper

THIS IS AWSOME NEWS, ONE OF MY FAVS

GO HOOPER

I'm still waiting for additional confirmation on this one.

 

[lionbear]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I hope this is true, One saved, three to go.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

The Tigers got McMahon but missed on Brisbane Lion Rhan Hooper, who agreed late yesterday to sign a new deal with the Lions.

Link

Hooper had been wooed by Richmond but chose to remain a Lion on a three-year deal believed to be worth more than $500,000.

Link

The Lions re-signed lightning quick midfielder Rhan Hooper, thwarting a concerted effort by Richmond

 

[Kochie 16]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Last time I checked Hooper was a forward?

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Last time I checked Hooper was a forward?

Defensive forward who floats on ball.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Hooper's life is going to be a little different from now on - the attention on him during trade week means he is now a lot more recognised, and he will also be earning heaps of money. We have seen players like Sherman perhaps not handle these changes too well, so hopefully Hooper can stay grounded.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Hooper's life is going to be a little different from now on - the attention on him during trade week means he is now a lot more recognised, and he will also be earning heaps of money. We have seen players like Sherman perhaps not handle these changes too well, so hopefully Hooper can stay grounded.

Chris Johnson as development coach will be important in keeping him on the rails.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

Why Rhan Hooper has gone fishing
Article from:

Damien Stannard
October 14, 2007 12:00am

BORN-AGAIN Brisbane Lion Rhan Hooper is on a mission to repay the faith shown in him by his coach and teammates.
The elusive small forward has opened up in a rare interview, revealing how he feared for his AFL career when he walked out on the club during the last pre-season.
"I didn't think I'd get a game this year so I was fortunate to get another chance," the 19-year-old said.
Hooper agreed to a lucrative three-year contract on Thursday, a deal that reflects his potential to become one of the Lions' marquee players.
Less than eight months ago, however, his career was flatlining.
Hooper temporarily quit the club in January when he lost motivation following his mother Annette Gaulton's move from Queensland to Albury.
After two months away from football he returned to the club, minus about $7000 in fines.
The Lions had to repel cashed-up Richmond to keep the teenager, who cited mateship as one of the main reasons behind his decision to stay.
"I've started to get close to the boys and I think I've earned back some of their respect," Hooper said. "After what happened at the start of the year I think they trust me now."
Having been granted another opportunity by coach Leigh Matthews, Hooper initially battled a thigh injury before working his way back through the AFLQ competition.
Once back in the seniors he made an immediate impact, using his grass-burning speed and determined tackling to keep the ball in Brisbane's forward line.
Before a three-game suspension prematurely ended his season, Hooper played eight games and returned eight goals with an average of 13 disposals.
"He had a good couple of months up until his suspension," Matthews said.
The Lions can also thank Matthews's unlikely rapport with the Ipswich product for Hooper's renewed commitment.
Images of Matthews enveloping him in a bearhug after Brisbane's obliteration of Collingwood was one of the most enduring images of the Lions' revival.
"I get along well with Leigh," Hooper said. "We've been through a bit of stuff and he's talked to me a lot. We're from two different worlds but he understands where I'm coming from. I'm thankful he gave me a second chance."
Hooper realises expectations will be higher for him next year.
Co-captain Jonathan Brown, who has noted newfound maturity in his younger teammate, holds high hopes for the goal sneak.
"It's up to him now to string it all together. If he has a big pre-season the sky's the limit," Brown said.
Brown says he could be a beneficiary of Hooper's zip and zeal.
"I don't think I've seen a bloke with his ability to keep working at such a high intensity," he said. "He will be very important for our structure."
Hooper, a self-confessed country boy, said he would have struggled to settle into the pace and scrutiny of Melbourne.
His head still spinning from trade week, Hooper will spend the next 10 days fishing and thinking about anything but football.
He will visit his uncle's property near Longreach where yellowbelly and cod hold far more appeal than handballs and tackles.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Haha, I found this old article:

New Lion has a big jumper to fill
By DARREN MONCRIEFF
Tuesday, February 14, 2006

NEW Lions recruit Rhan Hooper has more than just the expectations of being Cunnamulla's and Charleville's first AFL footballer to fill this coming season, but also that of much of the football world.

The young Murri, the Lions' No. 41 pick in the National draft last November, will this season wear the Lions' No. 33 guernsey, the number made famous by club legend Darryl White.

If it wasn't enough to fulfill a dream of having the chance to play for the club he grew up supporting, Hooper, who also grew up with dreams of emulating some of the Lions' Indigenous players, will proudly wear the jumper made famous by the triple-premiership player and 268-gamer, White.

"I've got a lot to live up to. I'm not quite as tall as him -- I'm just hoping I can try and live up to his name," Hooper, 18, said on Lions.com.au.

"I just loved how he took all those marks and screamers."

and this:

Rhan Hooper: The Cunnamulla Lion
By DARREN MONCRIEFF
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Saturday, December 17, 2005

AFL draftee Rhan Hooper hasn't wasted any time in declaring his intentions with his new club: that to be in the starting line-up in Rd. 1 of the pre-season 2006 NAB Cup. That the side he wishes to break in to is none other than a recent triple-premiership team with some of the biggest names in football seems not to faze the ambitious teenager.

Hooper, 17, has realised his dream after being selected at number 41 in last month's AFL National draft by the Brisbane Lions, the club he has supported since childhood.

Where the young Murri finds himself today, however, is thanks to his own determination with a bit of friendly but firm advice from two of his footy heroes.

This time 12 months ago, Hooper was on the verge of quitting football. He openly admits to engaging in practices not exactly conducive to the law.

"The pressure of that 'lifestyle' got to me and I got impatient," said Hooper. "At one stage I stopped playing footy and was going to quit entirely."

Hooper at that stage was 'on radar' with Queensland's under-18s side, the Scorpions, coached by former Lions premiership player Craig McRae. Aware of Hooper's situation, McRae enlisted the help of Lions pair Darryl White and Chris Johnson, who shared a lunch and a heart-to-heart talk with the then troubled teenager.

"Looking back it was a pretty important meeting. It was good. Johnno and Whitey talked about footy and how they got into it," said Hooper of the meeting, without revealing too much of what was said. "I guess I went through what a lot of young Indigenous fellas go through but what I did learn was that there was a choice for me."

The choice that White and Johnson laid out to Hooper was that, if he were to continue with his footy, the prospect of a career at AFL level could be there for the taking. Now that that prospect has come closer to reality with his selection last month by Brisbane, Hooper is intent on grabbing this chance firmly with both hands.

Hooper's football journey began when he was 7 when his family moved from Cunnamulla in south-central Queensland to Melbourne. He was born in Charleville but spent his formative years at Cunnamulla, where many of his family still reside. It was in Melbourne where he and his family would live for the next 7 years and where Hooper would come to learn, love and play Australian rules football.

When Hooper was 14, the family returned to Queensland, settling at Ipswich, a short drive south-west of Brisbane. The youngster immediately sought out the local football clubs and found the Ipswich Cats Junior Australian Football Club. He would make his senior debut and play against men two years later as a 16-year-old with the Ipswich Eagles.

Hooper is Ipswich's first AFL draftee. (The town's other famous son is rugby league legend Allan 'Alfie' Langer.)

Hooper's initial reaction on draft day was one of disbelief.

"I said to my manager, 'Are you serious!?' after he told me that Brisbane had picked me," said Hooper. "The chances of staying in your hometown (now Brisbane) after the draft are pretty slim so I was pretty pleased with the news."

Extremely pleasing to him is the fact Hooper will learn first-hand from Lions master coach and icon of the game Leigh Matthews and the experience of fine-tuning his craft with a professional football club.

Hooper's extended family are equally pleased.

"I rang my Nan who lives with my aunty in New South Wales and told her the news and even though she's pretty old now, she was stoked," said Hooper. "Nan, Aunty Fran and Mum supported me all the time and came to every State and rep game I played."

Hooper grew up playing the game as an on-baller but has of late been increasingly used on a wing and a half-forward flank, allowing him to use his pace and searing left-footers to create opportunities on goal.

He was part of the Scorpions who ran Tasmania close in the final of Division 2 at the National championships in Melbourne earlier this year.

"One of the team rules at the championships," said Hooper, "was for me to just run and run, tackle hard and see what I can do with the ball. "Craig (McRae) said just be acountable for your man and do what you can do."

Those instructions, followed to a tee, had obviously impressed Brisbane's scouts. And the heart-to-heart with Hooper's footy heroes, too, having played its part earlier.

 

[xplo]

Re: Rhan Hooper

Fly was obviously driving the Richmond push for Rhan. That's our bloody problem at the moment. Involvement in three flags gets you respect at other clubs, so we've got all these ex-players and ex-assistants with intimate knowledge of our list, but loyalty to new masters.

What can you do?

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

What can you do?

Take on as many of them as possible as assistant coaches.

But yeah it is a problem. Poachers are more likely to target players they know, and players are more likely to leave if they have had previous associations with whoever is doing the poaching.

Also from reading that article what struck me was how similar the events he described are to what happened this year. I think it would be a bit naive to assume it's all behind him and he's now destined for success. You'd imagine there will come another time when he might struggle for motivation, and how he responds to that will be very decisive in his football career.

 

[xplo]

Re: Rhan Hooper

I think there is a point where you put stuff behind you and settle a bit. DJ, Pikey and CJ all took a little while to get to that point. I agree that Rhan may well not be there yet.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Rhan Hooper

End of Season Player Review

After having a strong preseason and adding 5kgs to his slender frame, Hooper created a stir by walking out on the club. Being a fringe player, and now having a reputation for a lack of commitment, it seemed unlikely that Hooper’s career had much of a future.

But two months later he came back, and set about regaining the respect of the club. He was not allowed to train with main group, so he was on his own for much of the time, but he worked his backside off, and was back playing for Suncoast in round 6.

After some solid but not spectacular form Hooper was a surprise recall into the senior side for the round 10 match against Richmond. Leigh had just declared Rhan was unlikely to play for the year, but with an injury to McGrath and a struggling team looking for new ideas he got an opportunity.

His form was so-so and he was soon out of the team again, but on his return against West Coast in round 14 he started playing some good footy, and in subsequent weeks he just got better and better. Known as a forward pocket, he now had the fitness to play more and more in the midfield. Last year he had been running around like a headless chook, but now he was running smart and creating opportunities both in attack and defence. The only criticism of him would be that he wasn’t converting his scoring shots as well as he should, but apart from that his skills were good and his evasive abilities and pace were causing all sorts of headaches for the opposition. Incredibly, Rhan had become one of our most dangerous players, and averaged the 2nd highest votes per game in the B&F. Unfortunately his season ended prematurely after being found guilty of striking in round 19.

While Hooper’s turnaround has been remarkable, his biggest test still awaits. It’s one thing to train with the reward of playing at the end of the week, but how will he cope with the upcoming preseason? In his favour is the fact that he is more settled off-field these days and being more of an established player he knows that there is a great career ahead of him if he wants it.