Hopper draws on early AFL days at GWS as Tigers rebuild

The Giants were only three years old then, full of young talent and yet to make the top eight.

Hopper, now 28, says there are important lessons from his start at GWS that can help at Richmond, which had six round-one recruits in last year's national draft.

"They're golden conversations, I think I'd call them - ones where you can sort-of see what's happening and either draw from personal experience or just from seeing it unfold in other people, other players," he told AAP.

"It's what I wish I could have learned quicker. If we can play a role in accelerating our footy club in that way, then it's about trying to see as many of those opportunities as possible.

"These guys are the future of the footy club, they're the players all the fans are going to love and they're going to be Richmond men.

"As much as it's about the future, how can we accelerate our progress as a footy club?"

Now a 142-game veteran, Hopper offers a unique perspective.

He played in the Giants' losing grand final against Richmond in 2019, and three years later was traded to the Tigers.

Only a few months after Hopper and fellow Giant Tim Taranto joined Richmond, coach Damien Hardwick suddenly resigned and they finished bottom last season.

But Hopper considers himself a Richmond man and he is determined to help them rebuild quickly.

"It's really exciting and it's really not too unfamiliar for me, just because there was quite a similar situation (when he started in the AFL)," Hopper said.

"A few of the boys have had (premiership) success as well, so I'm still asking them. These (young) guys can teach us a lot as well, they're so eager.

"I love the club and the club feels like home. So any way I can help, on and off the field, that's really important."

Hopper has only managed 35 games over the last three seasons because of injury, but Richmond's new high performance boss Ben Serpell is rapt with his pre-season.

"The body is feeling good. That's the main thing with pre-season, how many bodies we can get out there and get some continuity into everyone," Hopper said.

"Obviously we need to get better and we need these young boys get to a level as soon as possible, because we can't expect them to come in and be great straight away.

"The expectation is to get back to some of my consistent, best footy. I feel like my body is in a really good spot."

While there are minimal expectations for the Tigers this season, Hopper said it is important they are doing more than just rebuilding.

They will play Collingwood in a pre-season charity match on February 26, raising money for the Foodbank charity.

"We don't know what it holds for us this year, but I know I'm really excited and we still expect to be competitive, put ourselves in positions to win games," he said.