Past #26: Tarryn Thomas - Roo until end '24

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Devington said:
pretty certain Martin's mural was just a Puma advertising campaign tbh.
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Word is they pay him $200,000 a season for it, although no one knows how they landed on that figure.
 
Tas said:
Bont and Thomas are very different players, very different body type, very different strengths and weaknesses.

Someone like a Bont would be an ideal replacement for say Cunnington, not as good on the inside but he is a more complete player.

Endurance is a weakness for Thomas, his lighter frame also is a vulnerability. I'll be happy if he can have a Simpkin-like development bloom, but there is a chance he won't make the transition into a midfielder role.
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Thomas is a lot harder at it than the bont, a couple more years of development and he’ll snap bont in half..
 

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Tarryn Thomas opens up about being an Indigenous role model, North Melbourne’s 2020 season and the teammates who are inspiring him
A mural featuring Tarryn Thomas aims to make a statement for Black Lives Matter, and the Kangaroos youngster wants to make his own statement on the field in 2021.
Glenn McFarlane, News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
Subscriber only
|
November 19, 2020 7:26pm
North Melbourne star [PLAYERCARD]Tarryn Thomas[/PLAYERCARD] in front of the Black Lives Matter Mural of him at the corner of Curzon St and Victoria St North Melbourne. Picture: Jason Edwards
North Melbourne star Tarryn Thomas in front of the Black Lives Matter Mural of him at the corner of Curzon St and Victoria St North Melbourne. Picture: Jason Edwards
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...1/news-story/ebb327be5d4d60fd1ad060cead5955f0
similars

North Melbourne young gun Tarryn Thomas wants to become a role model for the Indigenous community, revealing his plans to emulate the work of teammates Jed Anderson and Jy Simpkin on and off the field.
And the 20-year-old forward/midfielder says he can’t wait to meet the club’s soon-to-appointed new coach, as he approaches his third AFL season under what will be his third senior mentor.
Thomas, whose 2020 season was cut short by an ankle injury, watched fellow Indigenous Kangaroos midfielders Anderson and Simpkin take their game to new levels this year and is eager to form a strong on-field partnership with them.

He featured in a mural painted on the ‘Our Community House’ on the corner of Curzon St and Victoria St in North Melbourne for NAIDOC week.
The mural, featuring the words ‘Treaty’ and ‘Respect, and aims to make a statement for Black Lives Matter, reflects on the importance of community and bringing cultural groups together.
“It‘s for such a good cause,” Thomas told the Herald Sun.
“My culture is important to me – as is my family and my other family at North Melbourne Football Club.
“I want to be a role model for young Indigenous kids.
“Jed and Jye have been great for me. Both had unbelievable years. I can’t wait to get back out there with them, and the rest of the boys.”
Thomas grew up admiring Hawthorn’s Shaun Burgoyne as well as North Melbourne’s Daniel Wells, with whom he has sometimes been compared.
“I always looked up to Shaun, Daniel and all the Indigenous players when I was growing up,” he said.
“The first time I got to play on Shaun in my first year I was actually pinching myself.
“It was such a surreal moment.”

[PLAYERCARD]Tarryn Thomas[/PLAYERCARD] in front of the Black Lives Matter mural of him. Picture in North Melbourne: Jason Edwards
Tarryn Thomas in front of the Black Lives Matter mural of him. Picture in North Melbourne: Jason Edwards
The spectre of racism raised its ugly head again this year, with Carlton‘s Eddie Betts making a passionate call for change on Fox Footy.
“It is getting better,” Thomas said of his experiences.
“There is still a lot of work to do, but I think we are getting to where we all want to be.”
The departure of coach Rhyce Shaw for personal reasons was “sad”, but Thomas said the Kangaroos were well equipped to make amends for a disastrous 2020.
“Rhyce and I had a really good relationship. It was sad to see him go … I really hope he is doing well,” he said.
“I can’t wait to see who our next coach is.
“But we’ve been very lucky to have (senior assistant coach) John Blakey … he has been good for the group (since joining the club at the end of the season).
“I played on (Blakey’s son) Nick a few times. John has a great relationship with the players already. I can’t wait to see what we can learn from him.”
The Kangaroos are down to the last three coaching candidates – David Noble, Robert Harvey and Daniel Giansiracusa – with Noble believed to have plenty of support.
Thomas managed only six games in 2020 – after 20 in his 2019 debut season – after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Round 6.
[PLAYERCARD]Tarryn Thomas[/PLAYERCARD]’ third season at North Melbourne will be under a third coach. Picture: Getty Images
Tarryn Thomas’ third season at North Melbourne will be under a third coach. Picture: Getty Images
He remained in the club’s Queensland hub for the rest of the season.
“It was super tough,” he said.
“I got injured in the first game in the hub and the club wanted me to stay with them (after the surgery).
“No one wanted to be in the hub, but we didn’t have a choice.
“But I still learnt heaps …”
The Kangaroos delisted 11 players after the season and also traded Ben Brown and Shaun Higgins to Melbourne and Geelong respectively.
But Thomas still believes the Kangaroos players will learn plenty of lessons out of the 2020 ashes.
He can’t wait to get back into training, but won’t rush his return to full-scale work.
He is excited by the recruitment of Aidan Corr, Jaidyn Stephenson, Atu Bosenavulagi and Lachie Young.
Contracted until the end of the 2022 season, Thomas said he loved the club and was looking forward to playing a role in its revival.
“This club means so much to me,” he said.
“Ever since I was in the Next Generation Academy (in Tasmania), they have done everything for me.”
“They are just like another family … I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in the future.”
 
And the 20-year-old forward/midfielder says he can’t wait to meet the club’s soon-to-appointed new coach, as he approaches his third AFL season under what will be his third senior mentor.
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Damn. Hadn't really thought of the coaching saga from that perspective.

“It was super tough,” he said.
“I got injured in the first game in the hub and the club wanted me to stay with them (after the surgery).
“No one wanted to be in the hub, but we didn’t have a choice.
“But I still learnt heaps …”
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Trying not to read too much into that, lol.

“This club means so much to me,” he said.
“Ever since I was in the Next Generation Academy (in Tasmania), they have done everything for me.”
“They are just like another family … I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in the future.”
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:hearteyes:

Overall not the most indepth interview I've seen, just a couple of sentences on a half dozen or so different topics, but I suppose it would come across as a lot more revealing to the horde of non-North followers who may well have never seen an article about him. Regardless of the depth of the interview it was a nice read and in general it's good to hear someone other than the usual half dozen talking heads representing us, and doubly so for it being Tarryn. Has an interesting perspective given his age, race, and pathway into the club.
 
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It still blows my mind that people couldn't draw the link between him doing the mural and having pride in his heritage. It's well known how much family and his heritage means to him.
 
No need to overcomplicate this.

Tarryn doesn't.....

“My culture is important to me – as is my family and my other family at North Melbourne Football Club."
 
Sooo... getting back to it...
Seems to still be smiling still 👍, no mention of how he’s feeling after the surgery, bland but otherwise all good 👍
surgery).
“No one wanted to be in the hub, but we didn’t have a choice.
“But I still learnt heaps …”
Hopefully you did 👍
 
 

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SimpkinByTheDockOfTheBay said:
The issue with Tarryn last year, from the club itself, was that he WAS a kid.

20 year old going on 16.

Now he's matured and is engaging with mature issues.
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It was a pretty brutal year in terms of football. It might have taught him a thing or two.
 
DarkPhoenix said:
It still blows my mind that people couldn't draw the link between him doing the mural and having pride in his heritage. It's well known how much family and his heritage means to him.
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Not sure that’s the issue and I am pretty sure no one here has an issue with him taking pride in his heritage.

I assume part of SB’s problem (not I am speaking for him or anyone else, so I might be off the mark) with the mural is this part:
“A mural featuring Tarryn Thomas aims to make a statement for Black Lives Matter”.

We all know that BLM goes beyond a simple slogan (which is a great slogan btw) and is instead linked to a much broader political movement and organisations that have some ‘interesting’ political goals to say the least. People should be allowed to disagree with the political intent without be labelled something nasty.

Therefore, I don’t think snide insinuations of racism against anyone that doesn’t like the mural’s political statement are appropriate (not that I am personally accusing you of that). I don’t agree with SB that TT shouldn’t be making statements because he hasn’t produced enough on the field to warrant it. At the end of the day, if TT wants to support BLM, good for him, just don’t expect everyone to agree with it.
 
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SimpkinByTheDockOfTheBay said:
The issue with Tarryn last year, from the club itself, was that he WAS a kid.

20 year old going on 16.

Now he's matured and is engaging with mature issues.
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yeh i remember that article where they were saying he only drinks coke when he's not training - love hearing him looking up to Jy - I reckon it's so good for both parties.

Jy is such a great, mature young man and someone that all the kids can look up to.
 
Kangaroos4eva said:
Not sure that’s the issue and I am pretty sure no one here has an issue with him taking pride in his heritage.

I assume part of SB’s problem (not I am speaking for him or anyone else, so I might be off the mark) with the mural is this part:
“A mural featuring Tarryn Thomas aims to make a statement for Black Lives Matter”.

We all know that BLM goes beyond a simple slogan (which is a great slogan btw) and is instead linked to a much broader political movement and organisations that have some ‘interesting’ political goals to say the least. People should be allowed to disagree with the political intent without be labelled something nasty.

Therefore, I don’t think snide insinuations of racism against anyone that doesn’t like the mural’s political statement are appropriate (not that I am personally accusing you of that). I don’t agree with SB that TT shouldn’t be making statements because he hasn’t produced enough on the field to warrant it. At the end of the day, if TT wants to support BLM, good for him, just don’t expect everyone to agree with it.
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Yeah, it wasn't a statement that anyone was being racist, more that it was shocking to me that people were linking it to a risk of him getting too far up himself, when the aims of the mural are so obviously important to Tarryn on a personal level.
 
Hoping Tarryn's ankle injury is a small bump on a long injury free career at North...

Ankles can be tricky ..
 
Ok...I'm trying to understand this: how can anyone get upset about one of our players being featured in a mural?

F*CK me. There's enough sh*t in the world to get angry over. Why the hell waste any of that energy on a mural that celebrates a sense of place, the potential of one of our young guns and his own heritage.

Only positives for Pete's sake! Ok, rant over.
 
Before this season, parts of north Melbourne (including across the road from arden street) were plastered with bombers membership posters.

A mural on curzon st featuring one of our players should be welcomed. We need more blue and white in the suburb.. the football team and the community should be much more intertwined than they are right now
 
DarkPhoenix said:
Yeah, it wasn't a statement that anyone was being racist, more that it was shocking to me that people were linking it to a risk of him getting too far up himself, when the aims of the mural are so obviously important to Tarryn on a personal level.
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That statement wasn’t directed at you, but a few others that have been quick to insinuate it.

I agree, he isn't being arrogant and he is taking pride in oneself and his heritage. However, if he wants to make a political statement by attaching himself to a political movement as well, then people should be allowed to criticise that aspect.
 
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Kangaroos4eva said:
That statement wasn’t directed at you, but a few others that have been quick to insinuate it.

I agree, it has zero to do with him being arrogant and it is a sign of pride in oneself and his heritage. However, if he wants to make a political statement by attaching himself to a political movement as well, then people should be allowed to criticise that aspect.
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The fight for racial equality is a human rights movement, not a political one. Thousands of athletes across the world have shown solidarity for it in numerous ways. Tarryn's not the only one. Although I would argue he's got the best mural. :thumbsu:

Anyway, I'm not sure why anyone needs to criticise an Indigenous kid for giving a nod to the fight for racial equality.

And I agree, the suggestion that he's in any way arrogant is laughable. The only arrogance on here has been some posters claiming to know what's best for him.
 
Sopwiths North said:
The fight for racial equality is a human rights movement, not a political one. Thousands of athletes across the world have shown solidarity for it in numerous ways. Tarryn's not the only one. Although I would argue he's got the best mural. :thumbsu:

Anyway, I'm not sure why anyone needs to criticise an Indigenous kid for giving a nod to the fight for racial equality.

And I agree, the suggestion that he's in any way arrogant is laughable. The only arrogance on here has been some posters claiming to know what's best for him.
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