Scott Murray: 'If Liam was around, everything felt okay'
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Liam Hampson had so much promise for his future as a rugby league player.
When the young hooker made the move to Redcliffe last year, few could have predicted the impact he would have on the proud club, as he not only played a role in the team culture but showed plenty of x-factor to help steer the Dolphins to the 2022 Hostplus Cup grand final.
He had met Dolphins NRL coach Wayne Bennett after the preliminary final last year and was pushing for a possible train-and-trial contract before his untimely and tragic death in Barcelona in October.
Current Redcliffe Cup coach Ben Te’o doesn’t believe the Dolphins would have made that premiership decider without Hampson while his former Tweed Seagulls teammate and friend Will Brimson knows his NRL opportunity was coming.
But it wasn’t just on the field and training paddock where Hampson was making an impact.
The 24-year-old was also starting to build quite a career as a teacher. He had one subject left to complete before graduating university and was working as a teacher aide – first at Keebra Park State High School while with Tweed and then Redcliffe State High School in 2022.
Coincidentally, Hampson’s Cup coach last year, Scott Murray, was also a teacher at Redcliffe State High School.
The pair would spend all day and then all night together between school and training and there are few who saw so much of Hampson’s impact first hand.
Ahead of this Sunday’s Liam Hampson Cup between Tweed and Redcliffe at Cbus Super Stadium, Murray - who is now Redcliffe's Hastings Deering Colts mentor - paid tribute to the man who had an ability to connect with all kids, no matter their backgrounds, interests, abilities or problems.
“He made such a big impression in the time that he was here,” Murray said of Hampson’s time in Redcliffe as a whole.
“He was really, really loved and well-liked within the club and he built some wonderful friendships and really special relationships, not just with the players, but within the community.
“I was teaching at Redcliffe State High School and he was helping me out as a teacher’s aide.
“He also had a massive impact at the high school and with helping out the kids, not just with their footy but those struggling academically and what not.
“He was pretty special because he was able to help them out and get them on track. He was just able to build connection really quickly, which isn’t an easy thing to do, especially when dealing with 13 or 15-year-old kids that aren’t fitting in.
“He was able to connect and just identify what they needed. That was his personality. He was always upbeat and always friendly.
“But he knew what was right, especially with those kids. He had that ability to connect, no matter what he was doing. Everyone just loved him being around.”
After he passed away, Hampson’s family received “hundreds” of gratitude cards from students and staff at Redcliffe State High School, illustrating just how much of an impact he made there in a short time.
The family have since started up the Hampo’s Youth Foundation in his memory, combining his passions of rugby league, education and helping the next generations into one powerful initiative.
The foundation is designed to help young kids reach their potential, providing scholarships to assist with education, sport and wellbeing.
While Murray is on a 12-month break from teaching to undertake a fulltime role with the Dolphins, he knows what the foundation will be able to do for kids at Redcliffe State High School, and also Keebra Park, where the scholarships will start.
“It’s absolutely brilliant,” Murray said.
“What the family have been able to do in really difficult circumstances is to find a way to not only get through this tragedy but to make it worthwhile.
“I know Liam would be awfully proud of it, giving kids a chance that may not have had that chance previously.
“I take my hat off to the family and what they’ve been able to get going with the foundation. It’s a fantastic concept and very worthwhile for those young kids.”
Murray, who will be in attendance on Sunday with his Colts playing on Saturday, said the lesson that players and young kids alike can take from the way Hampson lived his life is to always give their best no matter.
“We were together more often than not - out on the footy field working together, sometimes in the classroom and then at night with Cup training,” Murray said.
“I was fortunate enough to spend a fair bit of time with him. You just loved having him around. It didn’t matter how you were feeling or how your day looked, if Liam was around, everything felt okay.
“When someone walks into the room and just lights it up, that was Liam. He had that ability to make everyone happy.
“He was always someone that gave his best, no matter what. We’ve got pictures up in the dressing room on game day. He’s always with us. He’ll always be there.
“Often I find myself sitting there and thinking of the times and what we did. It’s always giving your best, no matter what. That was him and that’s what you try to do.”
