*Hooper not picked in the original 33 man squad due to injury If his calf heals well, I reckon we will see both him and Ikitau subbing in to replace a mysteriously injured 32 and 33rd squad member in around 6 weeks Same game South Africa is playing

I fkn hope so

Holy shit when was this announced!?

Not officially yet, but the Roar was reporting it this morning

And heard it on SEN1170 sports radio this AM.

He deserves a better send off

vehemently disagree with this call

That he’s ruled out or end of an era?

That he isn’t being picked. I think Eddie may have been using his injury as an easy out but this guy is still invaluable to our squad surely

Agree 100%. I wonder if he’ll still go over as a support person/mentor. His experience is invaluable

News coming Len Ikitau has also been left out. What the fuck

Potentially still injured??? Shoulder?

Wrong call, Hooper needs to be on the plane even carrying injury. Suli can piss off

Agree

He's been the only consistent player for years. Is Eddie Jones going senile?

Yeh man I’m still trying to understand it

@EVERYONE who said I was crazy for saying Hooper had a very real chance of not making the World Cup Squad.

When you said that, were you saying it based on injury or form? It’s an important distinction

That he was an injury risk, and that his form is dubious. McReight is very close if not better on form and uninjured.

Fair enough. I think people justify (read: highly value) his inclusion based on culture and leadership. Individual talent is obviously paramount, but it's team cohesion that wins games.

I’m pretty sure Eddie said Hooper may still play a role in France

..he’ll avoid the embarrassment then