Greater Western Sydney Giants player Jacob Hopper will look to become the fifth St Patrick's College product in three years to win an AFL premiership.
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The 22-year-old will come off the interchange bench for the Giants in Saturday's AFL grand final against the Richmond Tigers. It will mark the first grand final appearance for the inside-midfielder who joined the Giants in 2016.
Hopper was all smiles when speaking with The Courier minutes before the grand final parade in Melbourne on Friday. He said it would be a dream come true to win an AFL flag, just as fellow St Pat's teammates Dan Butler, Liam Duggan, Shaun Grigg and Daniel Rioli - who he will face-off with today - did before him.
WATCH VIDEO: DANIEL RIOLI REFLECTS ON TIME AT ST PATRICK'S COLLEGE AT AFL GRAND FINAL PARADE
"I'd love to join that group, it's been great to see those boys win flags in the past, and to talk to them throughout the week has been something really cool and something I've leaned upon, so it would be very cool to join that group with three mates of mine," he said.
Hopper spent two years in Ballarat where he attended St Pat's and was also a member of the Greater Western Victoria Rebels. He won two Herald Sun Shield premierships and captained St Pat's in 2015.
He credited his time in Ballarat for helping to make him the player and person he is today.
HOPPER AND RIOLI AT ST PAT'S
"Ballarat was huge for my development and my growth on and off the field," he said.
"I've had some terrific people like Phil Partington at the Rebels and Howard Clark at St Pat's, and to have those guys contribute to me, and Ballarat in itself as a community was really big."
Hopper played in the 2016 Giants team which suffered an agonising defeat to the Western Bulldogs in the preliminary final of that year. He said he was immensely proud of how the playing group galvanised to overcome its share of adversity in the time since.
"The confidence and the trust within the four walls of the club has never dwindled, we've always maintained we've got a great group and if we get it together, we've got the confidence to win it, he said."
"It's an exciting time."
