Will Hopoate

NRL star Will Hopoate's offer to free brother from jail denied after charge over large-scale cocaine supply

Jamil Hopoate, who is an off-contract NRL player, was charged with large-scale commercial drug supply on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the alleged importation of cocaine with a street value of AU$154.2 million (NZ$165.6m).

Police allege Hopoate ran from police with an 8kg substance in his backpack, which he threw over a fence into a nearby backyard in Mascot.

The 26-year-old appeared via audiovisual link at Sydney’s Central Local Court on Wednesday and wiped away tears as his daughter waved to him through the court’s cameras.

Hopoate: Player strike threat is real if Tongan board rejects demands

The Mate Ma'a Tonga fullback reaffirmed the position of players ahead of the World Nines that they would not be backing down on their demands for an overhaul of the Pacific nation's rugby league bureaucracy.

Hopoate said the league community must not interpret relative silence on the issue over the past week as any sign the problems have been solved.

"We have been keeping in contact and don't want to wreck the preparations of those playing finals footy," Hopoate told NRL.com.