Coleambally are set to emerge from the cocoon of COVID-19 as a serious premiership contender with Sam Hopper committing to their campaign for next season.
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There was already a buzz around the Blues and the signing of the Leeton-Whitton rising star, off a strong season in the AFL Riverina Championship, only adds to the excitement.
"We're over the moon. He's a ripper kid and he's only 20, he's still got plenty of good footy left ahead of him," Coleambally co-coach Luke Hillier said.
"He plays off a half-back or on a wing. A couple of games that I watched he played really well and I think it showed at the end of the year, he finished top five for their best-and-fairest.
"That's a pretty impressive effort considering the quality of players that Leeton had this year."
Hopper trained with the Blues for a few weeks before finalising his move.
"I'm pretty excited from what I've heard and experienced myself," Hopper said.
"They're a great club with a great support network and it feels like a family club. Each footy club I've been involved in, I've looked for that. I'm excited about joining up and seeing where we can go with the team we've got."
He joins former Crows coach Jade Hodge as a Blues recruit but said he left the big forward out of his discussions.
"I didn't have anyone in my ear. All Hodgey's done is pass on my number and then I was talking to Luke and Toothy (Coleambally president Glen Tooth)," he said.
"(Jade) didn't pressure me into anything, he let me make my own decisions which was good because it let me work it all out my own way."
Hopper said it was hard to leave Leeton-Whitton, where he first played senior football at age 15. He was among a cohort of talented juniors but was at boarding school when the Crows were runners-up in 2016 and drought-breaking premiers a year later.
But he'll take finals experience to Coleambally. In 2018, Hopper was back for the Crows' premiership defence, which ended two weeks into finals, and then reached a grand final with Torquay Tigers in Victoria's Bellarine League in 2019.
The half-back-flanker was in their best in five of 15 games but the campaign ended with a loss, just as this year did for the Crows, who went down to Wagga Tigers after a very competitive season.
"Initially (after COVID-19 hit) just getting to play footy, it was a great opportunity to run around with your mates and think, how good's this?
"Then we did have a pretty hot side and the footy - every week you couldn't just go through the motions, you had to turn up and play your best footy," said Hopper, who was primarily on a wing.
"In most cases we were able to but unfortunately come the end of it, we were beaten by a better side. That Tigers team was pretty hot.
"With the team we had, we were always wanting to go that extra step and get the end result, especially for the committee at Leeton that made the year all possible.
"It's definitely hard leaving Leeton. That's always going to be my home club, my junior club... in the same breath, it's going to be very exciting and challenging joining Coly. I'm really looking forward to the challenge and excited about taking it on."
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