Hopper attended the draft in Adelaide and didn’t have to wait long for his AFL dream to come true, with the GWS Giants snapping him up at pick number seven.

The Giants had to match a bid from the Gold Coast Suns, who made a last minute grab for the young gun. 

Hopper is a midfielder, weighing in 82kg and is 186cm tall. 

After leaving Leeton to attend school and play football in Victoria, he played with the North Ballarat Rebels and was a member of the GWS Academy. 

As part of the academy he was given the opportunity to travel and train in America earlier this year.

Hopper said it had been a surreal week since Tuesday night. 

“It’s been a whirlwind, it’s been crazy with a lot of media stuff,” Hopper said.

“It’s unreal, super stoked it’s done now.”

Hopper will be joined at the Giants by fellow Riverina products – Matt Kennedy, Harry Himmelberg and Matt Flynn.

The foursome travelled to Sydney on Thursday before starting pre-season on Friday. 

Flynn and Hopper have been friends for some time, with both previously attending St Francis College in Leeton.

“It’s ridiculous, it’s only a couple of weeks ago we were joking around saying we would both be in Sydney next year and it’s actually came true,” Flynn said.

Hopper said the group was aware of the hard work to come, but was still trying to come to grips with the fact he will now forever be known as a top-10 draft pick. 

“It’s been absolutely flat-out, but it’s been good,” Hopper said.

“Now it’s just about cracking down, doing all the right things.

“I want to play as soon as I possibly can, so I need to iron out some kinks in my game and put my best foot forward.

“Probably increase my running capacity again, doing some more speed and endurance-type stuff, so I can be a bit more consistent throughout the whole match.”

The AFL season officially gets underway for the Giants on March 26 against Melbourne. The Riverina group was well aware they have many months of hard work ahead of them if they are to be selected in the first grade side next year.