Hopoate, 27, faced a sentencing hearing on Tuesday in the Sydney District Court for large commercial drug supply after being arrested at gunpoint during a police sting in May 2021.
Federal police had found 514kg of cocaine hidden in a consignment of toolboxes, replaced it with an innocuous powder and then tracked as it was distributed across Sydney.
The son of former Manly winger John Hopoate and brother of former Canterbury star Will was seen collecting eight blocks of powder and then riding in a van that was stopped by police.
Had the half-tonne of cocaine made it to the street, it would have been worth about $155 million, police say.
Greg James KC played down his client's role, saying the prosecution case didn't show Hopoate knew or wanted to have cocaine in his possession.
"All he's doing is picking up that which he's instructed to pick up and transmitting it to or at the direction of whoever had obtained it," Mr James said.
Hopoate was paid between $7000 and $10,000 to move the slabs but had no profit stake in the cocaine supply, the court was told.
By pleading guilty, he'd accepted having at least the minimum level of awareness required that the slabs had or were likely to contain cocaine or another illicit drug, Mr James said.
But the Crown dismissed attempts to portray Hopoate's crime as attempted supply, pointing to the fact that besides slight changes to underlying wording, the charge of large commercial drug supply had stuck since his arrest.
Hopoate entered a truck, removed the eight slabs, concealed his face with a hoodie, recruited a driver for the van and threw away the slabs of powder when confronted by police.
"He's taken ... those active steps in the chain of supply of drugs in the community," the prosecutor said.
Suggestions Hopoate took no part in the distribution were also dismissed by Judge Sharron Norton.
"He was told to pick up eight slabs of cocaine - what other purpose would there be for, but to distribute?" she said.
"He is part of the system ... he had the role of picking it up and moving it to another place."
While accepting Hopoate had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation, the Crown submitted the court needed to send a message to the community that jail time was the only option for people like Hopoate who acted as couriers in drug rings.
Hopoate has submitted an intensive corrections order - a form of suspended sentence - was an option open to the court.
He was addicted to gambling, alcohol and other drugs at the time, which led to his offending, the court has heard.
Since July 2021, he's been unable to touch alcohol or other drugs or gamble due to his strict bail conditions.
Hopoate will be sentenced next Thursday.
