Jacob Hopper is an Australian professional football player who has represented, as a midfielder, the Greater Western Sydney Giants (2016-2022) and the Richmond Football Club (2023-Present) in the AFL (Australian Football League), the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. He was selected by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with their first pick (the 7th pick overall) in the 2015 AFL Draft.
Born Name
Jacob Hopper
Nick Name
Hops, The Raging Bull
Jacob Hopper as seen in an Instagram Post in August 2022 (Jacob Hopper / Instagram)
Sun Sign
Aquarius
Born Place
Leeton, Riverina, New South Wales, Australia
Residence
He splits his time between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Nationality
Education
Jacob had attended Saint Francis de Sales Regional College, an independent Roman Catholic secondary day and boarding school in his hometown of Leeton.
When he was about 17 years old, he began boarding at St. Patrick’s College Ballarat, an independent Catholic secondary day and boarding school for boys in Ballarat, Victoria. He captained the school to its 6th successive Herald Sun Shield (Victoria’s longest-running school football competition) title in 2015.
Occupation
Professional Australian Rules Football Player
Jacob Hopper as seen in an Instagram Post in September 2017 (Jacob Hopper / Instagram)
Family
Father – James Hopper (Australian Rules Football Coach)
Mother – Deanna Hopper
Siblings – Zac Hopper (Older Brother)
Position
Midfielder
Jersey Number
2 – Greater Western Sydney Giants
Build
Athletic
Height
6 ft 2 in or 188 cm
Weight
88 kg or 194 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
Jacob has dated –
Liv Pellegrino (2019–Present)
Jacob Hopper and Liv Pellegrino, as seen in October 2022 (Jacob Hopper / Instagram)
Race / Ethnicity
White
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Eye Color
Green
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Toned physique
Side-parted, wavy hair
Often sports a light stubble
Affable smile
Jacob Hopper as seen in an Instagram Post in September 2022 (Jacob Hopper / Instagram)
Jacob Hopper Facts
Jacob began playing football when he was just 4 years old after joining the Leeton-Whitton Crows in the RFNL (Riverina Football Netball League), an Australian rules football and netball competition containing 9 clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales. His father used to work as a coach there at that time.
When he was about 13 years old, he joined the academy program of the Greater Western Sydney Giants, a professional Australian rules football team that represents the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales as well as Canberra.
Soon after this, he began to regularly get selected for representative teams of the state of New South Wales. In 2015, he was named the Greater Western Sydney Giants‘ ‘Academy Player Of The Year’.
He captained the combined New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory team in the 2015 under-18 national championships and was subsequently selected in the All-Australian team.
In his late teenage years, he represented the North Ballarat Rebels (now known as the Greater Western Victoria Rebels) in the TAC (Transport Accident Commission, the statutory insurer of 3rd-party personal liability for road accidents in Victoria) Cup (now known as the NAB League Boys), an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition that is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne.
Jacob made his AFL debut in the 8th round of the 2016 AFL season, in a 91-point win against the Gold Coast Suns. He collected 32 disposals in that game which equaled the AFL record (since 1992) for the most number of disposals made on debut.
This performance was instrumental in earning him a nomination for the ‘AFL Rising Star’ award which has been presented annually since the 1993 season to the player adjudged the best young player in the AFL for the year. He was later named the Greater Western Sydney Giants‘ ‘Rising Star’ for 2016.
In 2019, Jacob won the ‘Brett Kirk Medal’ which has been awarded annually since 2012 to the best player on the ground after The Sydney Derby (also known as The Battle of the Bridge), an Australian rules football match between the Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
He had 19 disposals, 8 contested possessions, and also kicked one of the Greater Western Sydney Giants‘ 3 goals in the 2019 AFL Grand Final (the annual championship game of the AFL) against Richmond Football Club. It was the Greater Western Sydney Giants‘ first appearance in the AFL Grand Final and they lost by a margin of 89 points.
After the 2022 AFL season, Jacob requested a trade to Richmond Football Club, and the deal was finalized in the early days of October that year.
