Ben Hampton


Ben Hampton is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a utility for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.
Hampton previously played for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League and has played in a number of positions throughout his career.

Early life

Hampton was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia and grew up in Temora, New South Wales, attending Temora West Public School until year 6.
He played junior rugby league for the Temora Dragons. When his family moved to Mareeba in North Queensland, he attended Mareeba State High School and played his junior football for the Mareeba Gladiators.
In 2008, while playing for the Northern Marlins representative side, Hampton represented the Queensland under-16 rugby league team. A scholarship holder with the Melbourne Storm, Hampton joined their SG Ball Cup side in 2010. Later that year he made his debut for their NYC side and was chosen for the Queensland under-18 rugby league team. In 2012, Hampton was promoted to Melbourne's full-time squad and selected to captain the Queensland under-20 rugby league team in the inaugural U20 State of Origin match. In October 2012, Hampton played fullback for the Junior Kangaroos in their 48-16 win over the Junior Kiwis.

Playing career

2013

Hampton made his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm in round 15 against the Titans, where he scored the Storm's two tries, made an impressive try saving tackle on Ashley Harrison and took on the kicking duties after senior playmaker Gareth Widdop was stretchered from the field. He played only one further first-grade match in 2013, mostly playing for Melbourne's feeder teams in the NSW and QLD Cups, the Cronulla Sharks and Easts Tigers.

2014

Due to the departures of Widdop and Brett Finch, Hampton started the season as Melbourne's starting, until Round 16 when he was dropped for Ben Roberts. He didn’t play in first grade for the rest of the year. On 30 July, Hampton re-signed with the Storm keeping him with the club to the end of the 2016 season. Hampton finished the year with 11 matches and 2 tries.

2015

Hampton played for the Storm in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines. He finished off the season with 3 matches and 1 try for the Storm, playing most the year for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup.

2016

Hampton was again named in the Storm's Nines squad. On 2 October, in the 2016 NRL Grand Final against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Hampton played off the interchange bench in the Storm’s 14-12 loss. Hampton finished the 2016 NRL season with 1 try from 20 matches. On 27 October, the North Queensland Cowboys signed Hampton to a three-year deal, starting in 2017.

2017

In February, Hampton was named in the Cowboys Nines squad. In Round 1, Hampton made his club debut for the Cowboys against the Canberra Raiders, where he came off the interchange bench in the 20-16 Golden point extra time win at 1300SMILES Stadium. He scored his first try for the club in the Cowboys' Round 11 loss to the Cronulla Sharks. On 1 October, Hampton started on the interchange in the Cowboys' 2017 NRL Grand Final loss to his former club, the Melbourne Storm. He played 26 games in 2017, the most in his career to date.

2018

Hampton played 22 games for the Cowboys in 2018, starting in all but 8 games. Due to an injury to Lachlan Coote, he began the season as the club's starting fullback, playing the first five games of the year in the position. He moved to centre in Round 6 following Coote's return, playing seven games their before returning to the bench in Round 15. He ended the year as the Cowboys' starting fullback, playing the last two games in the position, scoring four tries.

2019

After starting the season with the Northern Pride, Hampton made his season debut in the Cowboys' Round 3 loss to the Cronulla Sharks. In Round 5, Hampton played on the wing for the first time in his NRL career in the Cowboys' loss to the Melbourne Storm. In Round 10, he ruptured his bicep in the Cowboys' win over the Parramatta Eels, ruling him out for the rest of the season. On 17 September, Hampton signed a 2-year contract extension which would take him to the end of 2021. On 18 September, he was named the Cowboys' 2019 Club Person of the Year at the club's presentation night.

Achievements and accolades

Individual

NRL