Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 3:00 PM
Ben Somerford, Force/RA

New Western Force recruit Harry Hoopert is set for a major milestone in his recovery from an ACL injury sustained last year, when he plays in Thursday’s internal trial with full contact.

The 25-year-old prop moved from the Reds to the Force in the off-season, but arrived in Perth in the latter stages of his recovery from the long-term knee injury he suffered on the Australia A tour in Japan in October 2022.

Hoopert has launched into Force pre-season since moving to Perth in October, but Thursday’s internal trial will see him play competitively with full contact for the first time since the injury.

“It’s coming along really well,” Hoopert told Force TV. “The Force have done everything they can to get me back to being on the field.

“This Thursday coming up we’ve got an internal trial, so that’ll be my first test for me to come back and do full contact. I’m really looking forward to that.”

Hoopert, who previously played for the Australia Schoolboys and Junior Wallabies, had thrived on that Australia A tour prior to the injury.

As a result, the timing of the injury was cruel, but Hoopert said he’d maintained motivation by focusing on the things that matter to him.

“It’s about family and friends,” he said. “Keep myself busy. Fair bit of time in the gym doing my rehab. I was just trying to make fun of it.

“I knew there was a big opportunity to come over here (to the Force) and try to express myself as a player and a bloke, I’ll be trying to push for those higher honours.

“That Aus A tour was a good opportunity for me to push for those honours. But obviously the ACL put a dent in that. It’s just given me more motivation to have a crack this year and work for those honours.”

Hoopert is familiar with several members of the Force squad, namely fellow Toowoomba local Hamish Stewart, while he crossed paths with head coach Simon Cron in the Australia under-age set-up.

“One of my best mates, Hamish Stewart, moved over here last year,” Hoopert said. “He was a big part of the reason. We’ve grown up together in the country in the last 15-20 years. He was a big reason behind why I came over.

“I’ve worked with Cronny in the past. I know he’s a great coach. He’s building a good foundation over here and I want to be a part of that.

“I just saw the signings they’d made over here. I was really impressed with that. I knew there was something building over here and I wanted to be a part of that.

“Hopefully this year we can really step it up and get some wins under the belt.”

After almost 50 Super Rugby caps, Hoopert is optimistic he can bring plenty to the Force too. He said: “Obviously training alongside Taniela Tupou you get a few technique lessons from him to help with the bigger tightheads, so hopefully I can bring that over here and we can go well against some of the bigger teams this season.”

Toowoomba-born Hoopert grew up on the family grain farm in Jondaryan near Dalby in south-east Queensland, before moving to Brisbane to play with the Reds in 2018. He’s already relishing life in the west.

“I’ve moved in with my partner in Swanbourne which is about two-three minutes down from training which is easy access,” he said.

“Really loving it over here, it’s a nice heat, the beaches are beautiful, every afternoon we’re heading down for a swim, so I cannot complain.

“Dalby is about 42 degrees in summer, here I’ve copped 38 but it’s pretty good, I like the dry heat, it’s more humid over in the Brisbane."