Behind the Scenes: View our exclusive video of Brett Ratten presenting Shaun Hampson with his No 22 guernesey
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Big Nick meets the Hampsons | Blue to debut
It was Hammer time for Carlton in the Round 22 Clash against Melbourne. Out of the mire of a difficult game to watch for many reasons, young Shaun Hampson provided a few startling highlights for fans of the Blues in a great sign for the future. A high mark out on the wing, a strong lead here, and a nice debut goal – all in just his second game – sees Hampster win this week’s Play of the Week, the final one for Season 2007.
Shaun, tell us about your mark and goal – can you remember who kicked it to you?
It’s all a bit of a blur; I know it was getting on in the game. I have watched it back on video though and it was Ryan Houlihan. I was just over the moon to take the mark then slot it through.
How did it feel to mark and goal in just your second game?
It was great, I have been dreaming about it for a while now…it was good to get it over and done with.
The goal you kicked was a beautiful set shot, what are the most goals you have kicked in a match in your junior career?
I have kicked some 2-3’s but I have never bagged a heap of goals in a game, you never know though.
Did you feel more comfortable in your second game?
A lot more…it was great to get over the nerves of my first game, I thought I adjusted to the tempo a lot quicker and I felt as if I belonged a little more.
From memory your last Bullants game before debuting was actually for the Bullants Reserves! Is it true that you had asked the Club to play in the Reserves to give yourself more game time as the #1 Ruck?
Yeah I played a bit of Bullants two’s. I played one’s then went down to the two’s and then back up to the one’s. My last game was for the two’s as we had the bye in the seniors. I thought I really needed to play full games of football as I am still new to the game and every minute I got on the track was so valuable. I was competing against D-Mac, Aisake and Sammy Jacobs for game time in the seniors.
In your 2nd game you got a bit of game time, and showed off your ruck ability against one of the best in the business – Jeff White. Tell us about competing with him?
He is a real athlete; I followed him around a bit. We can both jump and I felt that I could compete against him in the air. It was a great learning exercise.
That’s some leap you’ve got – rumour is it’s as high as Eddie Betts is tall?
***laughs*** I’ll get back to you on that one, next time I see Eddie I will jump him!
Carlton fans are normally very pleased to see young promising kids come to the Club after the years we’ve had, but the recruitment of a young ruck early in the draft rather than recruiting rucks from other Clubs brings a particular joy to us. Do you feel any pressure to perform?
No not really, I am still new to the game and have a lot to learn. I enjoyed working with Gary Dempsey and our other ruckman this year and hopefully I will learn a lot more in years to come.
Would you agree that the club is short on senior ruckman, and if so, do you see this as a good opportunity to fast-track yourself?
I think when Cam Cloke went down we ended up a bit short. We had Setanta and Josh Kennedy in there for a while. It certainly is an area that we need to improve in.
Now that you've cracked it for a senior AFL game, do you have any regrets about giving up soccer? Did your competitive juices start flowing during the World Cup last year?
No, no regrets on giving up on soccer, I’ll tell you a funny story, when I first began to play AFL I asked Dad if I could start playing AFL. He said ‘yes, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of soccer’, later on when I wanted to play soccer again, I asked Dad and he said..’yes, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of AFL!
Setanta O'Hailpin's journey to becoming an AFL footballer is well documented, but you both played a very small amount of AFL football at any level. Do you compare your learning curve with him?
I suppose you can a little, I have worked closely with Setanta and Aisake as well this year and there are probably a few similarities there.
Having played the 2 games, what do you plan on working on over the summer?
I certainly need to build my frame up a bit, I really want to be stronger next year and you can always improve on your skills.
What do you say about Gary Dempsey and his coaching thus far?
Gary is great, he had a bit of a hiccup during the year and it was great to see him back at the Club. You learn so much off people like him - I am very grateful for his work.
What do the Boys call you down at the Club? Do you prefer Hammer or Hammo or Hampster?
Yeah the Hampster gets a good run...
You wear the famous no. 22 of Vallence, Manton, Klomp and Aitken, have you been contacted by any of the past wearers of the number since debuting?
Yes, Glenn Manton called me on the night before my debut. He just wanted to wish me well for the game and my future. It was great for him to take the time to do this and I really appreciated it.
You were recruited from Mt Gravatt. Tell us a bit about your home town and why we would want to visit there.
Yeah it’s not far at all from Brisbane, and I think all Victorians love South East Queensland. It certainly is a bit warmer than here!
We generally finish these things up by offering the player the chance to sledge some team members. As the last one of the year, there is no right of reply for anyone else. So tell us….who gets it?
No No…I couldn’t be happier at the Club I ended up at, everyone at Carlton has been fantastic and I appreciate everyone’s assistance throughout the year. But Luke Blackwell is a bit of a pain!
Yet another poor season for the Blues has passed us by, but you can’t help but feel that the number of great young players blooded by the Blues will set us up far more for future years. And this young, high-leaping Hampson could end up more than just the cherry on the cake, as a much-welcomed foray into recruiting promising young ruckmen into the Carlton Football Club took the Play of the Week.
