Tarryn Thomas

Tarryn Thomas (born 25 March 2000) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life
Thomas was born in Sydney, New South Wales, into a family of Indigenous Australian descent (Kamilaroi and Lumaranatana). He grew up playing rugby league and was identified as a junior prospect in the position of fullback, which subsequently led to him joining the Penrith Panthers development academy. At 12 years of age, Thomas relocated to Launceston, Tasmania, and began playing Australian rules football for the Prospect Hawks and eventually the North Launceston Bombers.

He made history in 2016 when he was voted Tasmania's best under-16 and under-18 player at respective national championships in the same year. Thomas was drafted by North Melbourne with their first selection and eighth overall in the 2018 national draft, after being part of North's Next Generation Academy (NGA). He completed school at St Patrick's College, Launceston.

AFL career
Thomas made his debut as a late inclusion in North Melbourne's 21-point loss to the at Marvel Stadium in round 2, 2019. Thomas received a 2019 AFL Rising Star nomination for his two-goal effort in round 12 against. Thomas had a career-best game in round 19 of the 2021 AFL season, where he kicked 4 goals and played a major part in the team's upset win over.

At the start of 2024, Thomas was found to have engaged in inappropriate behaviour towards a woman, which followed a long list of off-field controversies and indiscretions. He received an 18-game suspension from the AFL, which was subsequently followed by North Melbourne’s decision to sever ties with Thomas ahead of the 2024 AFL season.

Legal issues
In 2023, Thomas was charged with threatening to distribute an intimate image; he was later stood down by the club; he was offered a diversion programme, and Thomas was ordered to pay $1,000 to charity. The charge was Thomas's second over the 2022–23 AFL off-season after he was previously caught driving while his licence was suspended. Additionally, in a now-deleted Instagram video posted by Thomas, he appeared to have his feet up on a Mercedes dashboard while driving.

In May 2024, Essendon coach Brad Scott said in a televised press interview that Thomas was a "good person" and "deserved a second chance". The comment was slammed by the public at large and by media personalities such as former AFL champion Jimmy Bartel, himself a staunch campaigner against domestic violence.

Statistics

 * Statistics are correct to the end of the 2022 season.

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2019 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2020 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2021 ! colspan=3| Career ! 57 ! 45 ! 36 ! 455 ! 343 ! 798 ! 179 ! 187 ! 0.7 ! 0.6 ! 7.9 ! 6.0 ! 14.0 ! 3.1 ! 3.2
 * - style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
 * 26 || 20 || 16 || 15 || 114 || 126 || 240 || 47 || 68 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 5.7 || 6.3 || 12.0 || 2.4 || 3.4
 * 26 || 20 || 16 || 15 || 114 || 126 || 240 || 47 || 68 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 5.7 || 6.3 || 12.0 || 2.4 || 3.4
 * 26 || 6 || 3 || 2 || 24 || 23 || 47 || 8 || 19 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 4.0 || 3.8 || 7.8 || 1.3 || 3.2
 * - style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
 * - style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
 * 26 || 21 || 24 || 17 || 233 || 149 || 382 || 96 || 73 || 1.2 || 0.9 || 10.9 || 6.7 || 17.6 || 3.3 || 3.7
 * 2022 || || 26
 * 10 || 2 || 2 || 84 || 45 || 129 || 28 || 28 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 8.4 || 4.5 || 12.9 || 2.8 || 2.8
 * - class="sortbottom"
 * 10 || 2 || 2 || 84 || 45 || 129 || 28 || 28 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 8.4 || 4.5 || 12.9 || 2.8 || 2.8
 * - class="sortbottom"
 * }

Notes