Worst shirts will feature at funeral
LARRIKIN’S FAREWELL
TEARS will inevitably be shed as friends, family and mourners gather to farewell Liam Hampson and honour the legacy he has left on the lives he touched.
But according to his former Tweed Seagulls teammate Jayden Campbell, the man he remembers as “a good footy player, but a better bloke” will no doubt be hopeful then many a laugh is shared among the outpouring of grief.
Hampson’s funeral will take place today at Moreton Daily Stadium from 2.30pm, with hundreds expected to gather to commemorate and celebrate the life of the talented hooker and larrikin taken too soon.
The 24-year-old’s tragic death while on holiday in Barcelona sent shockwaves throughout the rugby league community, and yet his service is set to be delivered in a way fitting of the character he has been remembered as.
When the family released the funeral details, one of the key requests was that those in attendance donned “s--t shirts and birks” – adding such attire is what Hampson would have wanted.
Campbell, who lined up for the Seagulls alongside Hampson in the Queensland Cup six times before his ascent into the NRL, provides a small laugh and grin when told of the dress code prior to the service.
The Gold Coast Titans fullback, who was in Europe at the time of Hampson’s death on a getaway of his own, said such a sentiment perhaps summed up his former teammate’s nature best.
“He always had the worst kit going out but he didn’t really care – worst shirt, worst shoes but he was a good bloke and didn’t really care,” Campbell said.
“It’s a scary thing to know that something like that can happen to someone you know pretty well. It’s upsetting, but the boys have gathered together pretty well.
“Hampo was a good footy player but a better bloke, he always had a smile on his face and I think that’s what helps the boys a little bit more knowing how a cheerful person he was.
“He would probably want them to be happy instead of sad.”