J'maine Dale Hopgood (born 11 May 1999) is a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL). He previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.

Early life

Hopgood was born in

Hervey Bay, Queensland Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to t ...

. He grew up playing for the Hervey Bay Seagulls before moving to

Caloundra, Queensland Caloundra ( ) is a coastal town and the southernmost town in the Sunshine Coast Region in South East Queensland, Australia. Geography Caloundra is north of the Brisbane central business district. Caloundra is accessible from Landsborough r ...

at age 16, where he played for the Caloundra Sharks. Hopgood's father Dale died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on 24 March 2007, aged 39, less than an hour after playing a match for the Seagulls.

Playing career

Early career

In 2017, Hopgood captained Penrith's

S. G. Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne (Victoria Thunderbolts) also participate. Prior to the C ...

(under-18s) squad during his first season at the club. Later that same year, he played for the Queensland under-18s team. In 2019, Hopgood played for the Queensland under-20s team.

2021

Hopgood was promoted to Penrith's 30-man NRL squad ahead of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

. Hopgood made his first grade debut for Penrith in their round 10 match against the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

on 16 May 2021, as part of the Magic Round. Hopgood's debut was publicly announced on the Tuesday prior, his 22nd birthday.

2022

On 1 June, Hopgood signed a two-year deal to join Parramatta. It was reported that Hopgood had a verbal agreement to join

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

for the 2023 NRL season but decided to join the Parramatta club instead. Hopgood captained Penrith's NSW Cup team to the 2022 premiership defeating

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in the grand final. Hopgood was also named the 2022 NSW Cup player of the year. On 2 October, Hopgood scored two tries and was named man of the match in Penrith's 44–10 victory over Norths Devils in the 2022 NRL State Championship final.

2023

Hopgood represented the Indigenous All Stars in the 2023 All Stars match match. Hopgood made his club debut for Parramatta in round 1 of the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season is the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams For the 2023 season, the number of teams in the NRL has increased from sixteen to seventeen with the ...

against

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

which saw the club lose 16–12 in golden point extra-time. In round 3 against Manly, Hopgood threw a wild offload in the final five minutes of the match as Parramatta were narrowly behind the scoreboard. The pass was taken by Manly player

Haumole Olakau'atu Haumole Olakau'atu (born 1 October 1998) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL). Background Olakau'atu was born in Guildford, New South Wa ...

who raced away to score the match winning try. Parramatta would lose the game 34–30. In round 8, Hopgood was sent to the sin bin for a hip drop tackle on Brisbane's

Cory Paix Cory Paix () (born 27 January 2000) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL). Playing career 2018 In 2018 Paix played for the Norths Devils U20s Colts team which won ...

during Parramatta's 26–16 loss. In May, Hopgood re-signed with Parramatta until the end of 2025. In round 11, Hopgood scored his first try for Parramatta in their 26–18 loss against

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Hopgood played a total of 24 matches for Parramatta in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 10th and missed the finals.

References

External links

Penrith Panthers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopgood, J'maine 1999 births Living people Australian rugby league players Indigenous Australian rugby league players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league locks Penrith Panthers players Parramatta Eels players People from Hervey Bay Rugby league players from Queensland