Farewell to a ‘legend’: AJ Brimson’s heartfelt tribute to Liam Hampson

As hundreds of mourners prepare to farewell rugby league player Liam Hampson, Gold Coast star AJ Brimson has opened up on the tragic death of his mate.

AJ Brimson has opened up about in his first interview about best mate Liam Hampson’s tragic death.

Liam Hampson still harboured dreams of playing in the NRL before his tragic death at a Spanish nightclub which rocked rugby league and left Queensland Origin star AJ Brimson heartbroken.

Hampson will be farewelled by hundreds of mourners on Monday at Redcliffe’s Moreton Daily Stadium – where he hoped to one day play for NRL newcomers the Dolphins.

It has been nearly three weeks since Hampson – a popular figure in the Queensland rugby league community – plunged 10m to his death at a Barcelona nightclub, aged 24.

Catalonia police declared Hampson’s death a tragic accident, with his body not discovered for more than 30 hours as Brimson led a panicked hunt through a foreign city to find his missing mate.

The experience has left Brimson and the others on the fateful European holiday – including Broncos duo Jordan Riki and Jesse Arthars – shattered as they come to grips with the reality of losing a cherished friend in frightening circumstances.

“He was a legend, the funniest dude ever,” Brimson said in his first interview about the tragedy.

Liam Hampson (right) with AJ Brimson in Amsterdam.

“There’s been so many times already where I’ve gone to message him … that’s been the most heartbreaking thing. We can never do those things together or share them anymore. He was determined with his footy but also a happy guy. He was never stressed.

“We lived together for four years and bickered and sooked like brothers, but when he moved out I kept asking him every weekend to move back in. He was such a good mate.

“I’m going to miss him like crazy. We’ve got a tight bunch of boys and he was one of my best mates. I’m going to miss him a lot.”

Liam Hampson and AJ Brimson were friends from a young age.

A BROTHERLY BOND

Brimson and Hampson first met in 2012 on the Gold Coast before linking up together at rugby league nursery Keebra Park High School.

“We were similar people, with similar personalities and similar goals,” Brimson said.

“We both wanted to play in the NRL and got close at Keebra. We had the same sense of humour.”

Their “bromance” blossomed over four years together at school before Hampson headed to New Zealand to chase his NRL dream. While Brimson was on his way to the Titans, Hampson had secured a contract with the Warriors’ under-20s team.

The Auckland adventure was short-lived, with Hampson returning to Australia after six months as he struggled with homesickness and a lack of opportunity. He moved into a share house with Brimson and fellow Titans player Phil Sami in 2017 while chasing his NRL dream with reserve grade club Tweed Heads.

Hampson had never been closer to realising his dream than at the time of his death.

Liam Hampson in action for Tweed Seagulls. Picture: Kris Matthews

After moving to Redcliffe this year, Hampson starred at hooker as the Dolphins made a late charge to the Hostplus Cup grand final, losing to Norths in what would be his last game. He caught the eye of super coach Wayne Bennett – who will lead the club in its inaugural NRL season.

“Liam saw an opportunity at Redcliffe with the new NRL team coming in. He still wanted to chase the NRL dream,” Brimson said.

“He had a good year at Tweed in 2021 and I thought he could have got an NRL pre-season at the Titans.

“He thought there was more opportunity up there at Redcliffe.

“He had a really good season this year, especially at the end when they were playing finals. He was killing it.

“I thought he would have at least got an NRL pre-season at Redcliffe given the way he finished the season.

“Wayne Bennett told him after a couple of games that he’d had a good game, which was promising.”

Liam Hampson moved to the Dolphins to chase his NRL dream.

DREAM TRIP TO TRAGEDY

After the NRL season, Brimson headed to Europe in September with his brother Will, Riki and Arthars.

It was to be the trip of a lifetime – and certainly was for the first few weeks. They kicked off the holiday at Spanish party island Ibiza before heading to Germany, where Hampson met the group for Oktoberfest.

The next three weeks were a blur of European adventure, partying and good times, with their memories plastered on Instagram.

“We went to Amsterdam, Switzerland, throughout Italy, France and then Spain,” Brimson said. “We had the best time ever.

“We travelled through Europe and kept saying, ‘These are the best days of our life’.

“The fun we had has given Liam’s family a bit of comfort. He was messaging them to say how good a time he was having. It was so much fun.”

Arthars had left the group before they arrived in Barcelona, which was to be the final destination for the Brimson brothers, booked to leave on October 20. Riki had a flight home on October 18 – what turned out to be the day of Hampson’s death.

Hampson planned to continue travelling solo to Istanbul in Turkey.

The group went out for a night of partying to farewell Riki on Monday, October 17, ending up at the Sala Apolo concert venue and nightclub in the heart of Barcelona. It was the last time Hampson was seen alive as the group got split up about 4.30am on Tuesday, October 18.

“We had a big night out and got back in the early hours of the morning and went to sleep,” Brimson said.

QRL star Will Brimson shares final two photos of their night out at the Sala Apolo nightclub in Barcelona where Liam Hampson went missing and was later found dead. Picture: Will Brimson / Instagram

“We were all scattered as a group. When I got to the room no one else was there and I just went to bed at about 6am.

“I woke up at about 11am, went downstairs to get a feed and Liam still wasn’t there. I thought he must be with a girl or something. We didn’t think anything of it.

“It got to about 1 or 2pm before we started to get worried. I tried to text him and it wasn’t delivering.

“I thought that was a bit weird but maybe his phone was flat and he was asleep somewhere.

“It got to 3pm and we still couldn’t get hold of him. There’s no way he would have still been asleep so we started to get more worried.

“The next 36 hours were the worst of my life.”

Liam Hampson. Picture: Instagram

LIVING HELL IN BARCELONA

Riki left the hotel and boarded a flight that morning, with no idea Hampson was missing. He wouldn’t find out until he arrived in Australia.

When reality set in that afternoon that something was very wrong, the Brimson brothers went on a mission to find their lost mate.

They feared the worst – that he had been mugged, seriously injured or murdered – but hoped for the best.

“That’s when we started going to police stations and embassies and from then on it was non-stop until we found out what happened,” he said.

“I knew what he was like and he wasn’t the type of guy that wouldn’t message us, but it was hard to get that across to the police. It was frustrating.

“We were trying to tell the police something was wrong and they were saying, ‘We see this all the time, people go missing but they’re just with a girl or something’.

“I knew that wasn’t Liam at all. We knew something was very wrong by Tuesday night.

“At worst he would have messaged us. If he got mugged he would have found his way back. I thought he had been murdered.

“We knew it wasn’t good, but just hoped he was all right somewhere. We walked the same route home trying to find something, anything.

“We went back to the club at about 5pm to try and get footage to see who he left with and when, but they wouldn’t let us see it before the cops.

“It’s weird to think we were outside the club and he was in there, but we had no way of knowing that.”

The Sala Apolo nightclub in Barcelona, where Liam Hampson was found dead.

In a sad irony, the Brimsons were standing just metres from Hampson’s lifeless body as they pleaded in vain with nightclub staff to see CCTV footage. That footage reportedly showed Hampson going through an emergency exit in the club and being locked out before scaling a 1.5m wall and falling to his death in an obscure area of the venue.

The venue opened as usual and hosted a concert on the Tuesday night before Hampson’s body was discovered on Wednesday, October 19, after staff apparently heard the phone in his pocket ringing. It was Brimson calling.

“The police sent us to the main investigators’ station in Barcelona,” Brimson said.

“By that stage, we knew it wasn’t good. They could have sent us wherever he was if he was OK. Then the social workers started to arrive and they told us (he was dead) through a translator. You can’t really explain it. It was just disbelief. I felt like I was going to be sick. You never think that’s going to happen.

“It made sense because he just vanished. We didn’t remember him being outside the club or anything and that’s because he never left.”

Titans star AJ Brimson has been rocked by Liam Hampson’s death. Picture Glenn Hampson

LIAM’S LASTING LEGACY

Redcliffe is expected to be flooded with mourners wanting to farewell Hampson. They have been told to wear “Shit shirts and Birks” to honour his unique fashion sense (ugly clothes and Birkenstock sandals) and give Hampson a send-off he would have wanted.

But Brimson doesn’t want his legacy to end there.

“We’re hoping to set up a Liam Hampson Foundation,” he said.

“What that looks like exactly, I’m not too sure. The family’s going to decide.

“He was doing his teacher course and was a current teacher’s aide at Redcliffe. He loved helping kids, that was his passion along with footy.

“We want to set up something that helps kids that maybe can’t afford sport or education. We want to make sure he’s always spoken about, not just once a year.”

Mourners will farewell Liam Hampson in Redcliffe on Monday.

The scars of Hampson’s death are still raw for Brimson, who will return to training with the Titans next week in preparation for the 2023 season.

And he will not let the memory of his best mate fade away.

“I will dedicate the rest of my career to him,” Brimson said.

“I’ll get some sort of tattoo that I can point to when I score a try. I’ll write his name on me somewhere when I play. I’ve been up and down. Sometimes I’m doing well then we are preparing a funeral and seeing the family which is tough.

“I also know what Liam was like. He was a realist and lived his life to the full. I know for a fact he would want us living our lives as normal as possible. We have all been hanging out together, sharing stories and having a laugh. That’s what he would have wanted.”

Originally published as Farewell to a ‘legend’: AJ Brimson’s heartfelt tribute to Liam Hampson