Not satisfied with simply filling the hole Callan Ward's left in the midfield, GWS Giants young gun Jacob Hopper wants to help fill the leadership void as well.
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In a big boost for the Giants ahead of playing Fremantle at Manuka Oval on Saturday, Hopper has re-signed for two years, keeping him at the club until the end of 2021.
It comes on the same day the Giants have set a new membership record, finishing Wednesday with 25,282 - about 40 more than last year's total - with 4182 of those Canberrans.
Wards knee injury means the Giants will be without their co-captain for the rest of the season.
His other half, Phil Davis, has called on his teammates to help him take up the leadership slack as Ward recovers from his knee reconstruction.
It's a call Hopper's more than willing to take up.
"Yeah absolutely. Wardy being one of our skippers and probably our spiritual leader in there as well, I think there's huge responsibility for us younger players and us emerging leaders to step up and really take control and take more responsibility amongst the group and really take some ownership on how the result goes," he said.
Hopper said he never really considered other offers and was happy to remain with the Giants.
Having come through the Giants' academy, the Leeton native felt being from country NSW made it easier to stay with the Sydney club.
"Coming through the academy as well was massive and really important," Hopper said.
"The club has been so good to me and my family and the care they've shown to my family and friends has been really special and obviously being NSW born there's some real pride in staying here and creating our own history."
Hopper felt two years was the perfect time to sign on for.
He was hopeful fellow Giants Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio would now follow suit and commit to GWS.
Kelly has recently expressed his frustration at the constant talk surrounding his future, having previously been linked to a big-money move to North Melbourne before signing on for another two years.
Hopper had a simple solution to ending the talk. Put pen to paper.
But he thought maybe his mate "Chook" enjoyed the limelight more than he was letting on.
"I'll be letting him know that I've made my decision that [when you do] you can just focus on playing football," Hopper joked.
"I don't know though, I reckon Chook is someone who loves being in the spotlight a bit so we'll see what happens there."
While Ward might be lost to the Giants this season from a playing perspective, he'll still be able to help around the club once he gets over the initial operation.
That's something Hopper planned to take advantage of.
Ward's played more than 200 AFL games and has been one of the best onballers in the competition for a number of years.
But Hopper said it wouldn't just be beneficial to himself, but also to Ward in his long road back.
"Wardy is someone who has helped me from day one and someone I know will continue to help me throughout my entire career both on and off the field," Hopper said. "One aspect too is he probably wants it as well because it probably keeps him a bit busy [and] not just going through the rigours of rehab."
"That'll be something I'll hugely lean upon because he's such a great player and I can learn a lot from him."
AFL ROUND FIVE
Saturday: GWS Giants v Fremantle Dockers at Manuka Oval, 1.45pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.