Kieran Foran is glad TV cameras could not pick up on what he was saying when Lehi Hopoate crossed the try line and passed the ball to teammate Brandon Wakeham when all he had to do was fall over to score his own four-pointer.
“I nearly jumped out of the box,” Manly caretaker coach Foran said.
“I was very happy when I saw ‘Hop’ scoop the ball up, then run around to the sticks, but when he passed it to ‘Wakes’, you didn’t want to hear what came out of my mouth.
“I love the way the boys are getting around one another at the moment. You can see the connection, it’s growing every week, and that play shows you what Hoppa is all about – he’s such a team guy and so selfless.
“It won’t be good if he tries it again this Sunday [at 4 Pines Park]. He doesn’t want to know what might happen. I will get his father, John, on to him.”
Manly cult hero John Hopoate, like Foran, was far from impressed when he spotted Lehi pass the ball during the game against the Cowboys, and said his son was lucky he stayed in Townsville that night, rather than return to the family home on the northern beaches.
“I would have sorted him out, don’t worry,” John said. “I didn’t like it. But I also knew why he did it – he wanted to give Brandon a try. In fact, I probably would have done the same thing.”
TV commentators were quick to recognise the broader implications of Hopoate jnr’s pass in the 38-6 win against North Queensland, Cowboys great Johnathan Thurston telling the Channel Nine coverage: “That reeks of confidence or arrogance, passing it over the try line like that. That’s a big ‘up you’ to the Cowboys.”
Hopoate, however, said he wanted to let Wakeham score his first try for Manly, and his first four-pointer in the NRL for nearly three years.
“Wakes had been brushed for a few tries the past few weeks – he could have scored against the Dragons [the previous week], one of the boys could have offloaded, but they didn’t see him,” Hopoate said.
“We were all laughing about it in the sheds afterwards [that night].
“Looking back, it wasn’t a classy look – it does look arrogant. Dad didn’t say much. He was the same old. He wouldn’t have passed [if he was playing] – he would have taken all the accolades.”
Wakeham said of Hopoate’s generosity: “I was pushing up and calling for it, and even though he was in the in-goal, I thought I could get a cheap try – now I’m off the nudie [end-of-year nude run for not scoring a try in the season]. I was nervous catching it. I wanted to cuddle the ball, roll over and score.
“I won’t call for it again. He could have had the hat-trick, but gave it to me. People might have thought he was being cocky, but it’s probably my fault because I was screaming at him.”
The strange moment evoked memories of Daly Cherry-Evans doing something similar in 2023 when handing Jake Trbojevic the easiest of tries to help celebrate his 200th NRL game.
Manly will chase four wins in a row at home to the Eels on Sunday, with Hopoate’s good friend and regular centre partner Tolu Koula to make the most of the shift to fullback for the injured Tom Trbojevic.
