Following a sustained period of dominance in which the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles made the finals every year for a decade since 2006, the silvertails have endured a prolonged lull only making the finals once in the past four seasons.

While on the whole, the past four seasons have been painful for the Brookvale faithful, seeing many favourite sons walk out the door, this changing of the guard was typified in 2015 in which they lost club legends Anthony Watmough, Glenn Stewart, Kieran Foran, and eventually coach Geoff Toovey.

While the release of such players has allowed the Sea Eagles to rebuild their squad to be much more competitive, this change in trajectory, as well as the consistent squad that came prior, has resulted in more than a few future stars walking out the door.

Here are the top 10 players the Sea Eagles have let go, not re-signed or released since 2010.

The players have been listed in accordance with the contribution they made whilst at the Sea Eagles as well as considering the influence they have had at the clubs they have left for.

7. Will Hopoate

The son of legendary Manly bad boy John Hopoate, Will joined the Sea Eagles NRL squad at the tender age of 17 in 2009, playing out the season with their Toyota Cup under 20s side.

Hopoate would go onto make his NRL debut the following season in round 13, cementing himself as a player of promise through is consistent performances that belied his young age.

While Hopoate resembled his father in regard to his size, strength, agility and natural skills, he did not share the same penchant for troublemaking like his old man, with Will being grounded by his Mormon faith.

In 2011 after only two years of first grade, Hopoate could call himself a premiership player, having been part of the Sea Eagles side that defeated the New Zealand Warriors in the 2011 Grand Final. However, in the lead up to the final Hopoate made known his desire to complete his compulsory two-year Mormon mission, meaning he would have to put the brakes on his burgeoning NRL career.

In the lead up to the 2011 Grand Final Hopoate would sign a two-year deal with the Parramatta Eels commencing in 2014, guaranteeing his return to the top tier of rugby league once his religious commitments were completed. The deal was said to be worth upwards of $500,000 per season.

Since returning from his Mormon mission in Queensland, Hopoate has featured for the NSW Blues on four further occasions following his debut in 2011, as well as playing seven test matches for his beloved Tonga.

Having departed the Eels for the Bulldogs following contractual issues, Hopoate has featured predominantly at centre following the acquisition of fullback and former Newcastle Knights young gun Nick Meaney. Possessing great leadership skills following his time in the upper echelon of the LDS Church, Hopoate is a consistent and reliable force for the Bulldogs.

Will Hopoate

5 COMMENTS

  2. For mine it was Glenn Stewart…his departure started a sequence of events that drove a stake through the heart of Manly. It’s hard to overlook the significance of this impact on the club.

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