The Western Crows have retained the services of 2018 AFL New Zealand Senior Men’s Player of the Year Te Kopa Tipene-Thomas for the 2019 AFL New Zealand Premiership.
Te Kopa’s retention come under Category 2 of the Retained Players list (RPL).
RPL Category 2 is the retention of Regionally based players. (Up to 5 players to be retained).
Read more: 2019 AFLNZ Premiership retained players list explained
Te Kopa Tipene-Thomas
Western Crows superstar Te Kopa Tipene-Thomas will make his return to the Premiership side for the fourth consecutive season in 2019.
Originally hailing from Northland and now based in Hamilton, Te Kopa was awarded the 2018 Senior Men’s player of the year at the AFL New Zealand High Performance Awards in May this year after a phenomenal past 12 months.
Representing New Zealand for the second time at the 2017 AFL International Cup, the midfielder’s exceptional performance earned him a spot in World Team as one of the best 22 players at the tournament.
Since his New Zealand debut in April 2013, he has carved out an impressive pathway through to the Senior New Zealand team, along the way captaining the U16 New Zealand side, and being recognised as the 2014 and 2015 U16 AFL New Zealand Player of the Year.
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