There will always be someone special continually pushing AJ Brimson throughout the rest of his career.
Not that the Titans back ever needs any extra motivation to be the best player he can be, he has vowed to dedicate the rest of his time on the field to his best mate Liam Hampson, who tragically passed away in the off-season.
"I don't want to be corny or make a statement, but I obviously want to dedicate my season and career to Liam," Brimson said.
"I need to get some sort of a tattoo where it won't be under my jersey or shorts, so I point to it if I score a try something like that, but I'll be definitely playing for Liam."
The 24-year-old's memory of his long-time best friend typifies the type of special bond the pair had.
"He was stingy as. He never showered," Brimson joked.
"Nah, he was a good bloke. We lived together for four years, went to school together for from Year 9 to Year 12.
"He was a legend bloke, good footy player... I think he was on the verge of cracking an NRL pre-season up there at Reddy. He was actually unlucky not to get a pre-season here after his season at Tweed in 2021.
"He was happy as, lived life to the fullest. Never stressed about anything and we had a great time overseas together which was pretty lucky."
Hampo - as he was affectionally known - will also help Brimson get through the tough rigours of pre-season, knowing how much he would've loved to be out there getting his opportunity to crack into the NRL.
"You think of things when you're out there on the field and it's hot, but there's people doing worse off and that sort of thing," he said.
"You've then got someone like Liam, who'd be obviously stoked to be out there training in the heat like that, so just little things like that will probably help.
"Although, I don't need too much motivation playing in the NRL."
'The footy community has been great': Brimson
The Gold Coast leader has also been overwhelmed by support shown towards him, his close mates and the Hampson family during this difficult time, particularly from his Titans teammates and the wider rugby league community.
"The team has been really good and just the whole footy community in general," Brimson said.
"The night we flew back is when they did the minute silence and the armbands for Liam in the Australia v Scotland game. We went straight to Liam's family's house and we all watched it and they were super stoked. As footy fans, just to see the Australian World Cup team dedicate the game to Liam.
"I've had about players that I don't even speak to, big names in the game, message me saying they're thinking of us and the family.
"It's a good community the footy community and it's good to see players admit that sometimes stuff goes wrong and things aren't going so well.
"I was actually really happy. I wasn't surprised, but more impressed with the amount of players that I've never even spoken to, reach out just to let us know they're thinking of the family and I obviously passed those onto the family which which meant a lot."
