Rhan Hooper  Rhan Hooper (born 9 January 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who has played for the Brisbane Lions and the Hawthorn Hawks of the Australian Football League (AFL). An indigenous Australian with origins are from the Murri people his fast running and hard tackling were notable in the AFL. Picked at number 41 in the 2005 National Draft by Brisbane, Hooper was recruited from Ipswich in Queensland and wore the number 33 Guernsey formerly worn by his idol, indigenous player Darryl White. Classified as a utility player, he had the ability to play many positions around the ground. Averaging over a goal a game he was most notable in the role of defensive forward and "goal sneak", sometimes also playing in the forward pocket or half forward. His pace, defensive and ballwinning abilities also saw him sometimes used on the ball or as a rebound defender. Hooper was born in Charleville to indigenous Australian (Murri) parents whose ancestry is from the Kooma tribe, before later moving to Cunnamulla. Hooper lived in Ipswich as a teenager and attended the Bundamba State Secondary College. He spent some time in Melbourne in his late teens where he was first exposed to Aussie Rules by one of his sports coaches. He proved a talent and played some matches with the Dandenong Stingrays. Upon returning to Queensland he with the Ipswich Eagles where he first caught the eye of Brisbane Lions talent scouts. His dashes of blistering pace and ability to pick the ball up at full speed drew comparisons to the similar size and style of play of Melbourne Demons forward Aaron Davey, who had surprised the league a year earlier with the trailblazing defensive forward style. Picked at number 41 in the 2005 National Draft, Hooper took very little time to break into senior AFL level, with an exciting performance in the 2006 NAB Cup. He debuted in the Premiership season against Essendon showing plenty of pace, kicking a goal in his first game and racking up an impressive 7 tackles. His following performances were solid enough to guarantee his selection for several matches. In late January 2007, it was revealed by the Lions that Hooper had lost his enthusiasm for the work involved in being a professional football player. His former Coach Leigh Matthews stated that the club had been working with Hooper to resolve any issues but had stopped paying him wages in the interim. Hooper returned to the senior side with a renewed commitment in June 2007, returning in round 10. Among his highlights, season 2007 brought a 2007 AFL Army Award nomination in Round 10 for a match saving chase-down and tackle on Richmond's Matthew White, five crucial tackles against Melbourne in Round 15 and four goals against the Carlton Blues in Round 16.