In the 2003 season Hopoate breached the terms of his playing contract by playing in a fifth-grade rugby union match in the Sydney competition on 9 June under a false name in an attempt to not get caught.
In the round one clash with the New Zealand Warriors, Hopoate verbally abused a 14-year-old rugby league ball boy who had placed the ball on the sideline of the field rather than throwing it infield to the Manly player.