Shaun Hampson on new reality TV role
Former Tigers player Shaun Hampson is set for a reality TV role on Survivor’s latest series, Champions v Contenders — but he says there’s one team he prefers to be on.
Fiona Byrne
Don't miss out on the headlines from Fiona Byrne. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Former Richmond ruckman Shaun Hampson has paid tribute to his partner, Megan Gale, for helping him avoid a post-footy career collapse.
Hampson called time on his footy career last June after 12 years in the game.
“I have had my moments,” he said of adjusting to life after footy.
“You have something for 12 years …. so to just leave that, it was really hard. Yes, I missed competing and pushing myself, but it was more missing the camaraderie.
“A lot of guys (when they) leave (football) they are 25 to 26 years old, they don’t have a partner, they don’t have a business to focus on; I was lucky because I had all those things.
“I had my partner, I had two kids to try to keep up with, I had my (Ascot Food Store) business and I was helping Megan out launching her business.
“Also Richmond is a great club and I still get a phone call or a text from one of our two player welfare people once every month or two just to check how I am doing.”
Hampson can now add reality TV star to his resume.
He is taking part in Channel 10’s Australian Survivor: Champions V Contenders, which premieres Wednesday.
But he is not cast as a champion, rather as a contender.
“I feel much more comfortable with the contenders tag because I am a realist,” he said.
“I know I did not have the most outstanding career with medals dangling around my neck.
“What I had was 12 really good years — some good seasons, some bad, a lot of injuries.”
THE BLOCK’S $90M CASH SPLASH IN MELBOURNE
“I played 98 games. I was injured a lot of the time.
“I had four operations on one knee, five operations on the other, both ankles have been reconstructed, I have screws in my pinky and a dicky back.
“It would have been wrong for me to be in the champions tribe, in my mind.”
In preparing for the show, Hampson and Gale watched 34 seasons of the US version of Survivor to pick up strategy and survival trips.
Beauty queen slams ‘dumb blonde’ insult
Former Miss Universe Australia and qualified speech pathologist Olivia Rogers says brains and beauty are not mutually exclusive, clapping back at a heartless mum who labelled her a “dumb blonde” who wouldn’t trust Rogers to teach her child.
Fev’s savage swipe at AFL WAGs, players’ diva behaviour
Footy legend Brendan Fevola has delivered a brutal reality check for the AFL players and WAGs in the Queensland hubs, savaging their diva-like behaviour and unleashing some pointed words of advice.