Jamil Hopoate, brother of St Helens star Will Hopoate, sentenced after being paid huge sum as drug courier

The Hopoate family is one of the most note-worthy in rugby league.

Father of the family John Hopoate played over 100 games for Manly Sea Eagles in the 90s, before spending time in the early 2000s playing for Wests, Northern Eagles and Manly again.

A Tongan and Australian international as well as a State of Origin Player in 1995, he was a player of incredible status.

His youngest son Albert is just starting to make his way in the game at 21 and has played for both Manly and Canberra in his young career.

Will Hopoate is perhaps the best known of John’s three sons and is the oldest.

An NRL winner at the start of his career with Manly in 2011, he also played for Parramatta and Canterbury before joining an elite group of players to win Grand Finals on both sides of the world when he starred for St Helens in their 2022 Grand Final win over Leeds Rhinos.

He’s also set to star in the World Cup for Tonga when and if he can get over his injuries.

Sadly however, the middle brother Jamil has been at the centre of an unwanted story in Australia recently.

The former Brisbane forward was in court yesterday where it was confirmed that he was paid $7000 as a drug courier having been arrested in May 2021.

He pleaded guilty one count of supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

Today he has been given his sentence. Though his council originally believed that a jail sentence was unlikely, it has been this which has befallen him today with the former player given a sentence of two years and three months according to Fox League.