Braith Anasta and Gorden Tallis have rated each of Fox Sports’ NRL 360 reporters, including James Hooper, who they both praised for his loyalty in picking and choosing to write stories that ‘protect’ people. The comments were made on the latest episode of the BTFU podcast, which was published on Wednesday, July 30, one day before Hooper, 47, was sacked by Fox Sports after he had allegedly been charged by police over a drink driving offence. On Thursday, July 31, New South Wales Police responded to a call in Leichhardt shortly before 7.30pm after members of the public had reported that a vehicle had collided with multiple parked cars. Hooper had allegedly been driving his ute when it had made contact with the parked cars. The 47-year-old was alleged to have been driving five times over the legal drink-drive limit, with police alleging he recorded a result of 0.253 when tested for alcohol. A police statement said Hooper was ‘charged with driving with high range PCA and not giving particulars to the owner of the damaged property [three counts].’ Hooper has now been issued with a court attendance notice, requiring him to appear before Downing Local Court on Monday, September 15, 2025. The News Corp scribe has since broken his silence on the matter, admitting he was dealing with some personal issues and added that the incident was a wake-up call for him. But prior to the incident, both Anasta and Tallis praised the journalist for his work. ‘Hoops [James Hooper] is a good man,’ Anasta, said on the BTFU Podcast. Tallis replied: ‘Hoops is mate. ‘To work with Hoops, to see how loyal he is - the best thing about Hoops is the stories that he doesn’t write. ‘I think every journo has a lot of those stories...’ Anasta, who made a combined 288 NRL appearances for the Bulldogs, Roosters and Tigers, agreed. ‘He gets a lot of those stories and he holds them back,’ Anasta explained. ‘The Buzzes [Phil Rothfield] and Weidlers [Danny Weidler] would all admit it, and Chammas [Michael Chammas]... They push the boundaries and that’s why they’re up in lights and have those big back pagers every week. ‘Hoops, he wants to protect and look after everyone but still write the story. He picks and chooses. But he looks after people.’ Hooper has now been released by Fox Sports with immediate effect after the charges against him came to light. Fox Sports managing director Steve Crawley said: 'James has been a great contributor since he joined us in 2016, but he's also battled some significant personal issues from time to time. 'In speaking to him today, James also acknowledges that things need to change for him.' Hooper had worked as a columnist and a reporter for The Daily Telegraph prior to joining up with Fox. He’d feature on shows including NRL 360 and commentate on matches. He told News Corp that he would be seeking professional treatment following the incident on Thursday. 'I've let the game of rugby league, my employers, my wife and kids down terribly,' he told News Corp. 'Clearly, I'm not handling the tough side of the job. 'Hopefully, this is the punch between the eyes that will set me straight.' During the podcast, Tallis and Anasta also lifted the lid on the preparation work that the NRL 360 journalists do prior to the show. They spoke on how Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield works, lauding him for his news gathering abilities. ‘The journos say that he knows what story is going to run the best out of anyone and that he knows what people want to read,’ Tallis said on Rothfield. ‘I think he’s an old crocodile. No matter how much you feed him, he’ll bite you in the end. ‘He’s entertaining and he knows what people want. Everywhere I go, people are like: “Leave Buzz alone.” And then when you see him, it starts, and he just sits there and he’s like: “Braith, hold on a minute, let me finish”. ‘And he’s very talented.’ They also went on to speak about Paul Crawley, who also works for News Corp. ‘Love Crawls, love Crawls,’ Tallis said. Anasta added: ‘He does more prep than anyone for our show. Our producer will ring him and he’ll know everything about every game and he’ll have an opinion on all of them. ‘He gives us so much content and he’s strong.’ Tallis, who also enjoyed a glittering career in the NRL with St George and Brisbane, went on to add: ‘If Paul Crawley ever wrote anything about you in his career, you couldn’t challenge it.’