Past Rhan Hooper (2006-2009)

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Re: Rhan Hooper

Brisbane's prodigal son

Andrew Stafford | March 10, 2008


NOT everyone has the same dream. When Geelong forward Nathan Ablett decided, at just 22 and with a premiership medal around his neck, that he didn't have the required commitment to continue at AFL level, Brisbane Lion Rhan Hooper could relate to him.

"I knew how he would feel," he says. "There's only one person that really knows what they want, and that's the person that's doing it."

Hooper knows the value of being given space to make your own decisions. After a promising first year of football in 2006 in which he played 11 games, the speedy forward stunned his club when he went absent without leave on the eve of the 2007 pre-season. It was a move that led his pay to be docked and, in his coach Leigh Matthews' words, "wrecked his year".

It's an incident Hooper hasn't publicly discussed in any detail until now and his explanation is simple, and doubtless common to boys making their way in a man's game. "It's not going to be fun every single day, that's something I had to get my head around," he says.

"It wasn't like you could go to two training sessions a week and then you go to your club games every weekend. That was fun, but this is a job, this is something you can't muck around with. That was one thing that I had to get my head around — how much of a commitment it is to be an AFL footy player."

The second reason behind Hooper's decision to take a break is even more disarming: he missed his mum. Having grown up with his mother, sister and grandmother — he has never met his natural father — Hooper's struggle with the workload of an AFL footballer was thrown into sharper relief when his mother moved to Albury.

Born in Cunnamulla in Queensland's south-west, Hooper grew up in Charleville, then Melbourne. When his stepfather died, the family relocated to Ipswich, west of Brisbane, from where he was recruited by the Lions (41st in the 2005 draft). When he moved out of home to live with his partner of five years, it was only around the corner.

"I've got a really close bond with my mother and my nan, and my nan ended up moving down to Albury with my mother, so it was kind of weird not having them around," he says. "Even though I wasn't at the house with them, they were still there every single day for me."

A chat with co-captain Simon Black helped bring him back into the Lions' fold. "I think he was probably a bit worried about what everyone was thinking of him. Because he was away for so long, coming back would a big thing," Black says. "I just basically said if you don't want to play footy, make sure you really know that — (don't give up) just because you don't want to play at the moment."


Hooper eventually returned, in time for the start of the 2007 season. Longer training sessions were his reward. "Worked my backside off, earned the trust back of the boys, got fit again," he says.

To his surprise, Matthews recalled him to play against Richmond in round 10. He was dropped for two further games, but between rounds 13 and 19 Hooper demonstrated why the Lions had been so keen to woo him back.

Hooper is an Aboriginal footballer in the Aaron Davey mould — super quick, super smart around goals, but with super defensive skills to match.

In round 14, Hooper picked up his first Brownlow vote in the Lions' upset victory over West Coast at Subiaco. Two games later, he kicked four goals in the 117-point demolition of Carlton that led to the sacking of coach Denis Pagan. He followed it up with another three goals and 22 possessions against Collingwood.

It was performances such as these that added another dimension to the Lions and prompted his coach to gripe, after the Collingwood game, that such efforts were needed from the season's start, not its second half, by which time the Lions' finals chances were all but shot.

"He played half a dozen really good games," Matthews says now. "But we want him to play 22 good games, not half a dozen good games."

With the core of a new Lions team in place following a protracted period of post-premiership rebuilding, Matthews' comments make it clear that in 2008, Hooper will form part of that core, adding not only twinkle around the toes of Jonathan Brown, but extra dash and defensive pressure to its midfield.

"I'd hope that I could get a run in the midfield this year," he says. "I'm obviously getting fit enough to withstand the hard running they need in there, (so) I wouldn't mind coming from forward into the midfield, working through one of the other players."

What's more, his mum will be watching. "She moved back up a couple of weeks ago."
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Source: http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/brisbanes-prodigal-son/2008/03/09/1204998284228.html
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

Good story that.

The way the club handled the situation was admirable and it appears both player and club are now reaping the rewards.

Jason Akermanis was the player all the Brisbane kids idolised in the premiership era, I reckon in a year or so, you'll be seeing a stack of kids with "Hooper" or "33" on their jumper.
 

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Re: Rhan Hooper

TheBrownDog said:
Good story that.

The way the club handled the situation was admirable and it appears both player and club are now reaping the rewards.

Jason Akermanis was the player all the Brisbane kids idolised in the premiership era, I reckon in a year or so, you'll be seeing a stack of kids with "Hooper" or "33" on their jumper.
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He certainly has an exciting aspect to the way he plays his football. If he can perform consistently over 22 rounds as he did in the few games he played in 2007, we could be on to a very special commodity (both on and off the field).
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

Stafford also ticks a lot of boxes from this readers perspective, was born in Melbourne then shifted north in ’87 and is the author of “Pig City”. Although a pity if true, have also read he is a collingwood supporter... Cozi, is there a pattern developing here? :p

On Rhan, indeed a great read. Had a brief yak with him at the Vic. Family Day, he laughingly told me he may have to grow his hair long again after I asked… well it was at the other end of the ground... if it was him who kicked a goal against North the day before.

Great to read of his desire to move into the midfield, already drooling at the thought of him partnering Albie in the centre in the not to distant years to come.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

xplo said:
At this point Swallow probably still has Hooper covered for output. You might fancy Rhan's chances of overtaking Swallow in the future though.
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Yep - Swallow's a pretty decent pick up and wouldn't be out of place in our line up. Having said that, the Hooper selection has moved from a punt gone wrong to a reasonable each way bet. Let's hope in two years we'll be discussing it as the roughie of the decade!
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

POBT said:
Yep - Swallow's a pretty decent pick up and wouldn't be out of place in our line up. Having said that, the Hooper selection has moved from a punt gone wrong to a reasonable each way bet. Let's hope in two years we'll be discussing it as the roughie of the decade!
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If I remember rightly it was what would have been the Murphy pick, so that would be great result.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

Uploaded this one today.

[YOUTUBE]Y3lG-BoPWVg[/YOUTUBE]

I'm absolutely baffled as to why the quality is poor. The source video that I upload looks great, and YouTube turns it to shit.

Still... great goal.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

Rhan is one of the most exciting youngsters in football at the moment, but this is only his 3rd year on the list, i would hope for 22 games, average 16 touches and kick 25-35 goals, if he does this he will have performed above realistic expectations.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

spot on. our only problem last year was the huge cap between browns 70 odd goals and next was brennan on like 22. if we can get a few guys to give us 20-30 goals and have bradshaw chip in with bout 40 we should be laughing. need to score more than 10 goals a game, especially when brown is kickin bout 4 or 5 those
 

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Re: Rhan Hooper

Link

Rhan Hooper finds his feet with Lions
Article from:
Andrew Hamilton
March 22, 2008 12:00am

WHEN a teammate cheekily tells Rhan Hooper to make sure he turns up for work the next day and doesn't go walkabout again, the Lions speedster knows he belongs. The fact the events of last summer – when he walked out on the club for two months during the pre-season – are now fodder for gags, signals closure in an incident that threatened to ruin his relationship with his teammates and coach and end his career.
Life's pretty good for Hooper at the moment, he's just bought his first home in Ipswich, late last year he inked a lucrative new deal with the Lions and, entering hs third year in the AFL, is tipped for big things. He's come a long way from the shy kid who used to catch a train to training because he had no licence and no car and couldn't stand the thought of leaving his mum in Ipswich to live closer to the club.
"It was pretty embarrassing, I used to bring a change of clothes and wear nothing with the Lions' emblem on it so no one would know who I was," he said.
"But I've got a car and a licence now, and I've bought a house, it is my first little investment, and I don't mind the drive in, the city is a bit fast for me. I like my nice quiet areas."
All he needs to do now is educate long-time partner Jade Clarke on AFL.
"She still doesn't know the rules," he laughed. "She is an NRL girl, she reckons she just watches me. My mum takes her to games and tries to teach her but she just doesn't get it."
Hooper was fined $7000 and put through a gruelling solo 14-week training program on his return to the Lions just before the start of last season and had to ask forgiveness from his teammates.
A lot has changed in 12 months.
"Everything is very good, I've got a lot of support at the club, the boys are starting to drop the occasionally sly little joke about what happened and it shows me that they have moved on from it," he said. "I feel like I'm wanted here and I belong."
Hooper deserved the loss of respect from his teammates, but he also deserved to get it back.
For half a season he did extra running after every training session and when he returned to the reserves he played full games without a break.
"I didn't think I was going to get another game again," he said. "It was hard. There was obviously a bit of disappointment because I did let the boys down.
"I was determined to earn back their trust."
When Hooper looks back now on the events of last summer, he can't quite figure out why he was questioning his football future.
The simple answer is he missed his mum, who had moved with her mother to Albury after Hooper's first year.
Several discussions with co-captain Simon Black, who was "very helpful", and a long heart-to-heart with his mother made him realise what was at stake.
"I just thought to myself, 'I've done all the hard work to get there, why am I throwing it all away'," he said. "It is the perfect job, to have this is a dream.
"I got to have a game with Leppa, played a bit with Vossie and Johnno.
"It's weird, you get moments when it dawns on you that these blokes are my teammates, I'm one of he boys.
"But I'm also inspired by them, I reckon I get a little bit from everyone, people with courage like Brownie who is real tough, Blackie is a natural born leader and Nigel is just the fittest bloke I've seen."
The talented forward chuckled when he revealed his mum had now returned to Queensland.
"I got used to it, not having her around, she ended up back here but I'm not feeling the same as I was last year," he said.

hooper5kw8.jpg

HOME side ... Rhan Hooper has made up for a walkout last year to find a home with the Lions.
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Re: Rhan Hooper

He looks like he's bulked up a bit in the offseason, but his first game was nothing like the form he reached late last year. I hope he can find his feet soon, because he can be such a damaging player.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

He'd want to do it soon by the sound of things

“Brown’s kicked six and one of them was a snap but most of them were from marks and Bradshaw the same. We just need to get more guys who can actually sniff out a chance or two and finish when it’s their turn at ground level.”
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Link
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

People seem to think he's whippersnapper, forward pocket Milne type. He's not and he's never kicked goals as a permanent small forward.

Despite his shape, I think he's closer to Tim Notting than a Milne or a McGrath. He got goals against Collingwood and Carlton last year by following the ball down at pace, and scything holes thru the defence. You want midfield goals, he's your man.

But he's not a natural at the front 'n' centre, crumbpicking, bouncy, 'chickeny', stop 'n' prop, blitzing curls that good small forwards do.

Guys like Aka and McGrath are more than happy to run away from goal to find space to shoot. That's not Rhan's bag.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

Grimreepah said:
He looks like he's bulked up a bit in the offseason, but his first game was nothing like the form he reached late last year. I hope he can find his feet soon, because he can be such a damaging player.
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i thought he actually played ok.
he's more of a midfielder that pushes forward than a permanent forward pocket i reckon. his tackling presence around the ball alone is just priceless.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

konstas_87 said:
i thought he actually played ok.
he's more of a midfielder that pushes forward than a permanent forward pocket i reckon. his tackling presence around the ball alone is just priceless.
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Yep, good small forwards are like burglars -- hanging around looking harmless but watching for who's left a door open or a window unlocked, and the minute you turn you back - BAM - they've taken you for everything and gone. Ash does that.

That's not Rhan.

In military terms, a common tactic was to rush your cavalry at full pace around the enemy flanks, crash into their sides and punch a path straight thru the enemy infantry. This cut their front and back in half and generally sent them into mindless panic as your infantry pushed forward hard.

Rhan is cavalry. He's quick, he attacks the ball and carrier and gets through enemy lines to places that aren't ready to be defended, sending panic and disorder through the enemy infantry. That's not common.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

You guys are spot on about Hooper, he is more dangerous up the field and working forward, he is more likely to kick goals from carrying the ball instead of crumbing it. I see him more a midfielder that can and will kick goals.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

agreed. doesn't seem to have that nose for crumbing the goals from the ball spilling out of packs, much more likely to receive the ball before or around the 50 and kick it on the run.

added to that, he ain't that bad at putting it on the chest of a forward leading to him either
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

kizzel said:
Is it just me or has Hooper lost his pace to his bulk?
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Interesting observation. He's certainly not having anywhere near the impact he was having last season. Probably a bit better than last week but he will need to improve to keep his spot in the team.
 
Re: Rhan Hooper

Probably needs to have a good game in the next 2 or 3 before he's looked at.

We really do need his type of player,so they might be lenient at the selection table waiting for something to happen.
 

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Past Rhan Hooper (2006-2009)

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