by easytiger Sun Feb 04, 2024 4:19 pm
mattnz wrote:
Arthur saying that Hopgood has developed his game last season and can now play 80 minutes without losing focus.
That really remains to be seen...
From round 14 to the end of the season Hopgood played one game at Lock where he played more than 67 minutes... one game, and that was in Round 22 for 75 minutes. The following two games at Lock BA chose to only play him for 58 and 60 minutes - which seems strange IF Hopgood by that point was more capable of maintaining a high consistency in bigger minutes...
Maybe R25 he got a lighter start playing edge for 20 minutes before Joffa went off and Matterson came on (I don't recall), but even then it's managed middle minutes, and the next game BA chose to start Hopgood from the bench
So whatever Hopgood's improvements are (and he probably has improved), they certainly haven't been proven in an 80-minute NRL match
I like a good BA story, but at this time there's no evidence to support that story
Certainly something to keep an eye on, but I wouldn't put my house on it... (yet)