‘I’ve never seen anything like it’: All eyes on Lehi Hopoate as Sea Eagles rookie continues to live up to famous name after gruesome injury

Lehi Hopoate hadn’t even played reserve grade at the start of the year, but the man with the famous last name is now a regular in the Sea Eagles side.

The Sea Eagles have some of the biggest stars in the NRL, but their wingers have quietly stolen the show this season. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Sea Eagles veteran Lachlan Croker says rookie winger Lehi Hopoate’s potential is “scary” based on his first few months in the NRL, with the teen sensation striking one of the most exciting wing combinations in the game with Jason Saab who has added weapons to his “superpower” speed.

Hopoate, 19, was thrown into the deep end against the Storm following a stack of injuries to other potential fullbacks, and while he says that week dragged on because of the nerves, he’s now one of the contenders for the Dally M Rookie of the Year Award.

The youngster has all the tricks but plays with the temperament of a seasoned veteran and has wowed some of his experienced teammates.

Lehi Hopoate got whacked by Nelson Asofa-Solomona in his debut. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“It’s hard to understand. You look at the bloke and you talk to him during games and say ‘that’s outstanding’ but he just looks at you and goes ‘yeah, sweet’,” Croker said.

“He’s the coolest kid I’ve ever met and nothing fazes him. You could throw him in Origin next week and he’d say ‘sweet, no worries’.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, and from what I’ve heard, his older brother was like that as well. It’s scary to see a kid at that age and where he could end up.”

Hopoate’s incredible rookie season looked to be over when he suffered a fractured eye socket against the Titans. It blew up spectacularly but didn’t stop him from throwing an amazing offload to set up a try for Tommy Talau.

The injury was meant to keep him out for 4-6 weeks, but Hopoate was back a fortnight later and has kept his spot in the back five, with Tolu Koula returning from injury via the bench last week.

Hopoate only missed two weeks with a gruesome injury to his left eye.

“The eye surgeon said I got lucky with where I fractured my eye socket,” he said, having only made his NSW Cup debut this year.

“It was when Beau Fermor scored. I copped an elbow and then later on I blew my nose and that’s when it popped up.

“I actually couldn’t (see what was going on when I set up Talau for the try). I couldn’t open my eye at all, so when Tommy went down, I told him to hold onto the ball because I couldn’t see (that he scored).

“With the injury to Tolu, I was trying to soak up as much experience in first grade as I could while he was on the sideline.

“I had doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t be back (in the team), but thankfully I was back in two weeks before Tolu came back.”

It helps that he has proper Sea Eagles DNA, with his dad, John, and older brother, Will, both winning premierships with the club.

“They’ve played in different areas of the game and both debuted for Manly, so to have a support system where your father and older brother have both played NRL (is awesome),” he said.

“They give me advice wherever I need. Literally anything I ask for, they have it. I’m grateful to them.”

Jason Saab’s teammates have been impressed by his desire to take tough carries. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

While Hopoate is thriving, fellow winger Jason Saab is also having one of his best years, with the speedster keen for people to appreciate his all-round game rather than just his pace and try-scoring ability.

Saab is averaging a career-high 124m this season, two years after he was panned for his yardage that was exposed by the Panthers who were able to drag him back.

“It’s something that I’ve definitely grown in, but I still know that I’m very far away from how good I can be in that part of my game, which is exciting because I’m not doing badly at the moment,” he said ahead of the trip to Leichhardt Oval.

“I just think that I can go up another level, and that’s what I want to bring to my team. The speed stuff is very easy when you’ve got ball players who can put you in space, but I want to be a tough player for the team.

“That’s all my teammates care about at the end of the day – did he play tough – and that’s all that matters. They don’t care if I did this on the Telstra Tracker. It’s rugby league. You want your teammates to be tough.”