One of six players farewelled by the Canberra Raiders at the end of this year's campaign, outside back Albert Hopoate is reportedly close to signing with a new team for the 2026 season.
A member of the famed Hopoate family, Albert has spent the past four seasons with the Canberra Raiders in which he has played 37 matches and scored 13 tries adding to his one-year stint with the Manly Sea Eagles in 2020.
While he played a combined 29 of the matches during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he unfortunately only played one game in first-grade this year before rupturing his ACL in reserve-grade in March.
Unavailable for selection, young guns Savelio Tamale and Jed Stuart have since overtaken him in the pecking order while the club have also signed Sione Finau from the St George Illawarra Dragons.
After he wasn't offered an extension from the Raiders, The Mole from Wide World of Sports reports that Hopoate has signed with the Warrington Wolves in the Super League competition, pending a medical.
Set to link up with Sam Burgess (Warrington Wolves coach), the Beacon Hill Bears juniors is only at the start of his career and the 24-year-old will look to impress overseas before hopefully making his way back into the NRL, especially with two expansion teams joining the competition over the next few years.
