Blackwood forward Phil Hopton is set to play his 100th match in the red and the green this weekend in Round 1 of the Mortgage Choice Hills Football League.
Speaking at training on Tuesday evening, Hopton described how it was a great individual achievement to play 100 games. “Its a honour to play a 100 games for Blackwood. It’s something I’ll look back on in the future with great pride.”
Hopton made his debut in 2010 after moving up the hill from playing at the Mitcham Hawks and the Sturt Football Club during his junior years. After playing in the B Grade for this first few games, the athletic big man forced his way into the A Grade team as a focal point across half forward. In his first season he played 17 matches, kicking 6 goals.
After playing two more seasons for the club, including the 2011 Grand Final, Hopton moved moved down to West Adelaide at the start of the 2013 season, playing 52 games including in the Foxtel cup on the hallow turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Moving back to the Woods in 2016, Hopton instantly became a presence across the half forward line once again. Using his exceptional ability to cover the ground ability to cover the ground, he kicked 33 goals in his return year and tired numerous centre half backs of the competition. In 2017, he kicked 27 goals from 20 matches including a valuable major in the drought breaking premiership.
Hopton football CV across his opening 99 matches make for some reading:
– 99 Games (95 A Grade, 4 B Grade)
– 63.6% winning ratio (63 wins, 33 losses and 2 draws)
– 98 Goals (0.99 per match)
– 25 matches hes kicked more than 2 goals
– 6 goals is his most in one match (Round 3 of 2016 v Ironbank)
– 21 times in best players (1st: 4 times, 2nd: 7 times, 3rd: 4 times, 4th: 2 times, 5th: 4 times)
– HFL inter-league player (2016, 2017)
– Country zone player (2012, 2017)
– A Grade premiership player (2017)
Below are several snaps of Phil in action across the seasons
#beapartofthemarch
