Adelaide Crows midfielder Curtly Hampton has called time on his AFL career, stating that he has "lost the passion" playing at the highest level.
Hampton played 51 games for the Giants, from their inaugural season until 2015. He then moved to the Crows, where he played just 12 games — with three of those games being this season. The 25-year-old spoke to his teammates on Wednesday morning and expressed his loss of love for the game. "After eight years in the system and with multiple setbacks along the way, I've lost the passion, motivation and enjoyment for the game that you need to perform at the highest level," Hampton said. "The past few weeks have been particularly hard as I try to deal with the symptoms of vertigo. "At times, it has been difficult to train and play, but it has also affected my life away from football. "In saying that, I am confident of making a full recovery but I feel it is best to do that away from the pressures of the AFL industry. "This is a good opportunity to focus on the other priorities in my life and I look forward to the next chapter." Crows coach Don Pyke said that Hampton's retirement came as a surprise to him, but he knew that Hampton was starting to struggle with the demands of the game. "From talking to him earlier in the year, it's been tough for him this year in terms of motivation and drive," Pyke said. "It's a demanding game, and he's done it since he was just out of school and got drafted by GWS and went over there. "It's sad and disappointing when a young man decides to finish his career, but we wish him well. "It's a sad day for us, but hopefully for him, it starts the next chapter in his life and he can move on and do other things which don't involve kicking footys around."
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