Past #26: Tarryn Thomas [Part III] - [C.Twomey] AFL rules TT is eligible to play in all competitions as of 14 October

[Tas]

(Character?) …It’s everything to me.

One wrong character in the dressing room is a lot of problems, mate.

I will always forsake the quality of a player for the right character…

 

[The Filth Wizard]

Whilst I do not agree with the excuses or whataboutery posted, I think it is fair to say that the lack of integrity shown by the AFL over the last few decades has led to many people, potentially a majority, not having faith in the AFL. It does not surprise me that some want to see iron clad proof before being comfortable with the AFL's decision making process or integrity if you like.

I can definitely agree with the views on the AFL there. I’m applying a reasoning here that this is a powder keg incident and if announced as rumoured will have had every legal eye the AFL has passed over it. I hope as much information is released as possible though can understand viewpoints where some must be private. At the very least I hope all the information is handed to the club in the coming days. The league can hand down months if they choose, the most telling information will come from what the club does.

 

[Tas]

Whilst I do not agree with the excuses or whataboutery posted, I think it is fair to say that the lack of integrity shown by the AFL over the last few decades has led to many people, potentially a majority, not having faith in the AFL. It does not surprise me that some want to see iron clad proof before being comfortable with the AFL's decision making process or integrity if you like.

AFL is a problem sweeping machine that does everything humanly possible to make problems go away. All the other problem players have had victims that would accept bribes to make the matter go away. It doesn't make other players better people, nor the AFL a better organisation, if people come out publicly and/or go to the authorities with complaints then the AFL's wheelbarrow of cash problem solver hits roadblocks it can't reach.

Is TT guilty or not of whatever has has allegedly done this time? isn't really in the scope for us to assess it. If this is potentially career ending then he/his manager would have lawyers all over it and would be doing everything humanly possible to avert catastrophe.

Regardless of guilt or innocence, he is becoming a distraction that is fastly reaching the crescendo of him being more valuable to us off the list than on it. If you can't control your life outside of football you are done as a footballer.

 

[Hazey1977]

Amazingly, he is the lone AFL partaker in that form of entertainment when it's apparently quite common in the wider community. Wonders never cease.

He's an interesting thought that's just come to mind after I listened to his Dad on the Head Noise podcast series....

Maybe it's the AFL's way of showing their dissatisfaction at Smith Snrs insurance payout for permanent disability......

 

[Ashley B]

 

[Marksup]

Another wasted talent…

I’m ultimately triggered now because this made me think of Kieran Harper

Kieran Harper

Age

33

Ht

187cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.9

2star

K

5.6

2star

HB

3.3

3star

M

2.0

2star

T

3.4

5star

G

0.9

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.2

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

3.2

5star

G

0.8

4star

and I just went and watched his highlights

Completely different set of circumstances, but so similar in the sense that neither have gone on with it after such a promising start.

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

If we are on the verge of a finals birth come round 19 - Taz will be playing - mark my words.

If we are on the verge of a finals berth come round 19, I'm not dropping one of the players who put us in that position in favour of a bloke who hasn't played for 12 months and has no VFL form.

 

[Forever North]

No one gets 18 weeks just for the hell of it. He’s done at North. He’s a disrespectful pig of a bloke. Disrespects women, our club, his teammates, his family and us fans that pay his big fat contract. He’s not some wide eyed 18 year old naive kid from the bush anymore. Has good people around him at the club trying to help him, fulfill his immense talent only for him to spit in their faces. What is it now 5-6 seasons of distractions and ‘incidents‘ from him, plenty of excuses and chances for bugger all return. Don’t really care where he ends up. More likely doing the suburban/country circuit for $2k a game rather than starring in premierships at Sydney or Collingwood I reckon.

 

[buttsauce]

18 weeks is a bit ridiculous isn’t it?

 

[The Dingrel]

I've no idea what Tarryn has done and if that information doesn't come to light well the 18 week penalty impacts the North Melbourne Football Club more so than the player. As it stands, it appears he gets punted from North, only to be picked up by another club as a delisted free agent or minimal draft capital. That low price means you can bet a number of clubs will be bidding for his services and drive his wage up commensurate with his talent albeit with behavioral clauses. So the elephant in the room is, WHAT has he done? Does it create enough public outrage where other clubs won't touch him? If his act isn't made public, this penalty is squarely on our football club.

The way this has been handled is really quite bizarre. Not a criminal proceeding, not a civil proceeding, there are no winners, only the AFL's "integrity?" Dunno perhaps, his "victim" tried to extort a sum of money out of him with the threat of going to the AFL. That's the only thing that makes any sort of sense. Where has his management and advisors been in all this? And for the AFL, couldn't they have brokered a huge fine to be paid to a women's charity, perhaps some sort of settlement to his alleged victim, and a "deregistration" suspended sentence, to save face?

As it stands, everyone's a loser, but the NMFC is the biggest loser out of this penalty.

 

[Mcarcherey]

Spoiler: [Article continues]

Arden Street seems certain to be a Tarryn Thomas-free zone next year.
As North Melbourne continues the cultural overhaul it believes will set its premiership foundations, Thomas will not be part of the club’s medium-term future.
The only real query, as the Kangaroos await an official penalty that will wipe out most of his 2024 season, is the exact manner of Thomas’ departure from the club.
Will the terms of that suspension give the Roos just cause to terminate his contract and save them a significant sum in their salary cap for 2024?
Or does he remain on the club’s list while being paid through his suspension, with the possibility the Roos might extract some meagre trade collateral in the October meat market?
All those scenarios lie ahead for North Melbourne, in an era when simply sacking a player is not so easy, given his rights under the collective bargaining agreement.
But what has become clear is that North Melbourne has drawn a line in the sand.
Too many chances, too many opportunities to make good have been ignored.
As the Herald Sun reported last week, the Roos have braced for a lengthy suspension for some time now.
The AFL said on Monday that an 18-week penalty had not been agreed as part of the integrity department process that is ongoing – and the Roos were still awaiting league guidance.
But as part of the well-worn method of punishment meted out by the AFL, almost every suspension is through negotiation or horse-trading.
So as much as North Melbourne says it is not aware of the exact allegations or punishment ahead, it would be the first club to be totally blindsided by an impending ban.
The AFL believes the latest allegations are serious enough to come down hard on Thomas, and if the eventual penalty isn’t 18 weeks, it will be close enough to end his season in any capacity.
Sacking a player given their rights under AFL rules is an incredibly complex situation.
The current allegation against Thomas is not believed to have involved a police complaint, and he escaped conviction after charges were downgraded last year.
Thomas is also due about eight months’ salary of a contract of between $600,000-$700,000 for 2024. So the Roos will have to weigh Thomas’ rights with removing a significant distraction to an entire football club.
The question for the Roos is whether they might have traded him last year when clubs, including Essendon, were interested enough to at least inquire about his services.
AFL clubs have always been seduced by talent – and no doubt one will present to give him another chance in 2025 – but Thomas and North Melbourne breaking up is now inevitable.

"The question for the Roos is whether they might have traded him last year when clubs, including Essendon, were interested"

Why would that be a question for north? It's irrelevant

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[4cunningTonneTruck]

Then he’ll be on our list in 2025

There is every chance the club has been part of this process contrary to what they are putting out publicly. If they were wanting to cut ties it's more justifiable if the punishment comes from the AFL rather than the club.

 

[Mcarcherey]

Sadly for us it's a damn-if-we-do, damned-if-we-don't situation.

Get rid of him, we lose a huge talent that could make the difference of a very good team from a great team, and helps another club win a flag

Keep him, and we painted by the media and oppo as a club that condones Domestic Violence.

Any club that picks him up would also be painted with condoning DV

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[Mcarcherey]

While I’m not defending Bennell at all, he was the victim of injuries for a long stretch

"bags full" of injuries you could say

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[krakouers]

18 weeks is a bit ridiculous isn’t it?

Something that’s been floating around in my head, what if it’s 18 but he has served (we will say 10) ?
What is the vibe on that? Assuming it’s related to the previous events somehow?
It’s also seen as, not as serious, but more a collective of many actions?
Like, we are sick of your crap, you were stood down by the club for 10, we will add 8 but you have shown progress on your rehabilitation, undertaken the counselling you have been given and shown that past is behind you?
100% certain this isn’t the case, just a thought that’s in my head

 

[Mcarcherey]

I dont agree with this statement. Tarryn is one of the most talented players ive seen. If he worked as hard as Wardz amd Sheeze, he may have been the GOAT

[emoji23]

Thomas played in sheez's position a few years ago, he was great, but sheez was still better... in his first year!

Wardlaw is cunnington with speed. he already is deadlifting as much as the strongest players at the club, he's a freak athlete.

These two I can already see being placed in the middle when the team needs a lift, and delivering. Thomas has been given that opportunity a few times, occasionally he's come through, but he's been in the system for 6 years. ...The aforementioned are going into their second season!


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[Horace]

He's a campaigner, but he's the most talented player on the list. Only a handful in the comp can do what Tarryn is capable of. Petracca, Dusty, De Goey is his ceiling

I'd give him one more chance.
Tell him to spend this year getting super fit in a Tibeten Monastry.
Then offer him 1 year at a $100K, if he knocks that back or stuffs up again he's gone.

Good grief no, surely not.

If he ends up there then the police must surely be involved.

We all (or most of us) know who used to spend time in a "Tibetan Monastery". And now he is no longer here. Unless he is behaving himself under a very heavily disguised alias.

 

[QueenslandRoo]

Regardless of guilt or innocence, he is becoming a distraction that is fastly reaching the crescendo of him being more valuable to us off the list than on it. If you can't control your life outside of football you are done as a footballer.

The "Thomas is becoming a distraction" line is a common assertion, but I don't believe it for a moment.

Supporters are fixated on it. The media are obsessed with it. But I am certain the playing group and coaches are not.

Charlie Lazzaro isn't running around at the intra-club game thinking about TT.

Will Phillips isn't struggling to train because he can't get TT out of his mind.

Tom Powell isn't distracted from his preparation for the preseason hit-out with Collingwood by worries about TT.

For the first time in years we have genuine competition for spots. The playing group are worrying about putting their best foot forward, not about the welfare of TT.

And as for the coaching group, they've been planning 2024 as if TT is not around. Trust me, they're assuming no TT. And if it turns out that we have him, well then that's a bonus.

TT is a lot of things, but he's not a distraction to anyone but those outside the club.

 

[Devington]

The "Thomas is becoming a distraction" line is a common assertion, but I don't believe it for a moment.

Supporters are fixated on it. The media are obsessed with it. But I am certain the playing group and coaches are not.

Charlie Lazzaro isn't running around at the intra-club game thinking about TT.

Will Phillips isn't struggling to train because he can't get TT out of his mind.

Tom Powell isn't distracted from his preparation for the preseason hit-out with Collingwood by worries about TT.

For the first time in years we have genuine competition for spots. The playing group are worrying about putting their best foot forward, not about the welfare of TT.

And as for the coaching group, they've been planning 2024 as if TT is not around. Trust me, they're assuming no TT. And if it turns out that we have him, well then that's a bonus.

TT is a lot of things, but he's not a distraction to anyone but those outside the club.

Tell that to Todd Viney and probably a few other club staff. Hell of a lot of hours have gone into trying to sort out TT and his issues.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

More cooked than Cooked McCookington the head cook of Cookedville.

 

[QueenslandRoo]

Doesn't "off the record" when speaking to journos generally mean you don't report on it, or give any indication where info came from....?

Like, I agree with what he's saying, but that seems like betraying some sort of confidence.

Note to self, never tell Matthew Lloyd anything in confidence!

 

[QueenslandRoo]

Tell that to Todd Viney and probably a few other club staff. Hell of a lot of hours have gone into trying to sort out TT and his issues.

Todd's not the playing group. Todd's not the coaching group. Todd's more than capable of handling it without it becoming a club distraction.

 

[StiffArm]

I wouldn’t be getting rid of him. Anyone wants him, he’s worth a top 5 pick or he can go into the draft or psd. Or he stays in the blue n white. Call their bluff, nothing to lose.

Nobody has destroyed their bigfooty reputation more than Tarryn Thomas in all this, but hot damn you're running a close second!

 

[Ocha905]

Surely an 18 week suspension would have to be for serious criminal charges. I mean an AFL player can borderline assault someone on the field and get 6 weeks.

 

[Tas]

18 weeks is a bit ridiculous isn’t it?

Think of it as a two week injury.