After taking home Player of the Tournament honours at the recent Australian Schoolboys championships, Cody Hopwood has reportedly inked a four-year contract with an NRL team.
Currently a student of St Mary's Maitland, Hopwood has had a remarkable 12 months, which have seen him represent the U19s NSW Blues and earn Australian Schoolboys honours - beating out the likes of Mitchell Woods, Kahu Capper and Zane Harrison.
Coming through the club's pathways system, the front-rower is around 196cm in height, weighs about 106kg and played a key role in their SG Ball Cup campaign this season.
Only 18, Hopwood has signed a four-year contract with the Newcastle Knights until the end of the 2028 NRL season, per The Newcastle Herald.
The new contract comes after he was recently promoted to the Knights' Top 30 roster for the remainder of the 2024 NRL season and will also make him the second longest-contracted player at the club.
This will join promising Sosaia Latu on the club's books, who has also signed a contract until the end of the 2028 NRL season, which Zero Tackle revealed.
"I have enjoyed my time in Newcastle so far, making a lot of mates here and building great connections with the club. This made my decision to stay at this club long-term an easy one," Latu told Zero Tackle.
"Firstly I'd like to give glory to the Lord for this opportunity and also would like to thank my parents for the sacrifices they've made for me. I also couldn't have done it without my homestay family here in Newcastle for making my stay here easier.
"If all goes well in the next couple of years, I hope to make my NRL debut with the Knights."
