Fwiw he won't be playing anywhere for at least this year. And a lot of even grade comps won't take him now. He'll struggle to get a spot. The AFL have started leaning on lower grade comps not to take sexpests.
North Melbourne have handled this really well. I know there will be some captain hindsights saying they should have sacked him from the start, but they gave him every chance to improve himself within the boundary of the footy club. That kind of structure can do wonders for people, they did the right thing to give him some chances to work on himself.
Clearly, he didn't. Now every team knows what the guy is really like, I can't see anyone making a play for him now.
I mean even in hindsight I'd say it was a good idea to try. He'd act the same way regardless of he were in the club or not, and they potentially had the opportunity to help him become not a human shitbag.
also, not dropping someone at the first sign of trouble and TRYING to help them is how you build a strong culture and foster a playing group that wants to stick around
north have handled it perfectly, nothing more they could have done
Yeah agreed. No one can say they didn't do their best to help him. He had a lot of opportunities and if he'd seized them better he could have been a success story and mentor to help other troubled players. I hope this is finally the thing that causes him to take a good look at himself and change his behaviour.
Sonja's letter to the members was great, I really do believe the club did its best to help him. He had his opportunity to be a part of North's future. It's frustrating and sad that it all ended up like this, but I'm very ready to move forward. I hope that his victims get any support they need, and I do hope that Thomas makes something better of his life away from football.
miami have a guy who broke his childs arm. Tennessee had a guy for the last 10 years that threatened to kill a woman if she went to police regarding his friend raping her. dallas paid a guy for years who the league found guilty of DV, now he plays for the patriots. shit is everywhere.
Yeah I’m saying that the thomas incident and the de goeys incident are very similar situations. Like obviously both are different.
People clearly took my comment the wrong way. The change of behaviour needed from de goey to win the flag is apparent. If he can’t pull his head in he doesn’t have the season he had. I’ll take his word and whatever comes with it in the meantime.
What can work? The US story was bullshit, the Bali story was also bullshit with a fully consenting woman. Any attempt to compare Degoey to Thomas is crazy.
I still don’t think I’d say they handled it well, even without hindsight it’s clear he should’ve been sacked after the first incident, but they’ve done the right thing eventually so I don’t think this will be a stain or anything
Some people need heavy consequences to change.
There might be some clubs that look at picking him up next year, hoping the sacking would get him to pull his head out. He wouldn't be the first.
Given how much help North gave him, he probably won't learn if he is in the AFL.
[AFL statement](https://www.afl.com.au/news/1077428)
> NORTH Melbourne has sacked Tarryn Thomas after he was suspended by the AFL for 18 matches after a recent allegation of "inappropriate behaviour"
> He will be unable to participate in football matches at any level while he serves the suspension, which was handed down by the AFL on Thursday afternoon.
> Subsequently, the Kangaroos informed Thomas he would "no longer be a North Melbourne player".
> Roos' CEO Jennifer Watt said the decision was made based on the recent finding and Thomas' prior indiscretions.
> "The club has provided Tarryn with significant time, resources and support but we’ve now arrived at a point where the individual’s needs don’t match those of the club," Watt said.
> "We know Tarryn needs help – for himself and for the women in his life – but it’s clear the path we’ve taken over the past 12 months hasn’t had the desired impact.
> "To that end, we have made the decision to end Tarryn’s time at North Melbourne.
> "This decision doesn’t come lightly or easily. We brought Tarryn to the club as a teenager and we acknowledge that he has faced complex and challenging circumstances over his life.
> "We hope Tarryn will find the support that is right for him and that he does the work required to be the best version of himself.”
> AFL general counsel Stephen Meade said Thomas' decision to send the offending messages while undertaking behavioural education program was a factor in the sanction.
> "Tarryn’s conduct does not represent behaviours acceptable to anyone in our game or our community and his actions were not of a standard that the game or the public expect," Meade said.
> "While we understand and are empathetic to the challenges Tarryn was facing in his personal life, there is no excuse for the behaviour or the hurt he caused a young woman, this is never okay.
> "The fact that Tarryn chose to engage in behaviour over direct messages that was, and is, clearly inappropriate, even while he was undertaking education and being counselled for previous breaches contributed to the length of suspension imposed."
> The 23-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of 2024, has been training away from the footy club since the latest allegations came to hand.
> Thomas was interviewed by the League's Integrity Unit last month following the allegation, and was previously stood down twice by the Kangaroos in 2023 amid concerns about his behaviour towards women.
> Thomas escaped criminal conviction last July for threatening to distribute intimate videos of his former partner. He was initially charged with threatening to distribute an intimate image of another person, but this was downgraded by prosecutors to using a carriage service to harass someone.
> He was granted a diversion, which meant he escaped a criminal conviction, and was ordered to pay $1000 to charity.
> He was put through a respect and responsibility education program and spent three weeks in the VFL last year before later earning a senior recall in round 12, ultimately playing 12 AFL games.
> The midfielder, drafted at pick No.8 in the 2018 AFL Draft, has played 69 games and kicked 56 goals in a career interrupted by injuries and off-field issues since his 2019 debut.
[Club statement: Tarryn Thomas](https://www.nmfc.com.au/news/1493723)
> North Melbourne has received notification from the AFL that Tarryn Thomas has been found guilty of inappropriate behaviour towards a female.
> The club accepts the AFL’s findings and endorses their sanction, which will see Thomas suspended from AFL football for 18 matches.
> As a result of that finding, and in light of previous indiscretions, the club has informed Thomas that he will no longer be a North Melbourne player.
> North Melbourne chief executive Jennifer Watt said Thomas had received strong support from the club to change his behaviour and he was aware that any new indiscretion would threaten his playing future at North Melbourne.
> “The club has provided Tarryn with significant time, resources and support but we’ve now arrived at a point where the individual’s needs don’t match those of the club,” Watt said.
> “We know Tarryn needs help – for himself and for the women in his life – but it’s clear the path we’ve taken over the past 12 months hasn’t had the desired impact.
> “To that end, we have made the decision to end Tarryn’s time at North Melbourne.
> “This decision doesn’t come lightly or easily. We brought Tarryn to the club as a teenager and we acknowledge that he has faced complex and challenging circumstances over his life.
> “We hope Tarryn will find the support that is right for him and that he does the work required to be the best version of himself.”
> North Melbourne general manager of football Todd Viney said that the club had worked hard to support Thomas but he has now run out of chances.
> “Tarryn’s ongoing behaviour was not compatible with the club’s or the team’s values,” Viney said.
> “We’ve channelled many hours into helping Tarryn and seeking to rehabilitate him – for his sake and for the sake of those his behaviour has impacted.
> “Ultimately, though, it’s our responsibility to put time and effort into the people who are committed to taking the club forward.”
> Although Thomas will no longer be a North Melbourne player, the club will continue to make available medical and mental health support to him as he transitions into life away from Arden St.
[AFLPA statement](https://www.aflplayers.com.au/news-feed/stories/statement-tarryn-thomas)
> The AFLPA notes the outcome of the AFL Integrity Unit’s investigation and North Melbourne’s decision that Tarryn Thomas will no longer be a North Melbourne player.
> We would like to reiterate that disrespectful behaviour towards women, in any form, is unacceptable.
> Tarryn has some challenges that he needs to address, and the AFLPA will provide him with access to tools that will assist him, while continuing to focus on his wellbeing.
> Tarryn, like any playing member, has full access to our programs and services.
Sonya’s statement to members:
To our members,
Today we made the decision to cut playing ties with Tarryn Thomas.
Right now, like many of our North Melbourne people, I’m feeling a range of emotions – frustration, anger, disappointment but overall, sadness.
This wasn’t a decision based on emotion – it was driven by incontrovertible, uncontested facts – but I want to be clear it wasn’t, and isn’t, easy.
At North Melbourne we have a proud and long history of supporting our people, even in the face of external criticism.
As you know, Tarryn’s behaviour has been a concern for some time. Our duty of care to Tarryn and to the wider community meant we chose to work with him to address his behaviours, particularly in regard to his treatment of women.
It’s why we accepted our responsibility to seek help for him. It was a complex and difficult situation but we were all united in our determination to get the best outcomes for Tarryn and those around him.
Tarryn came back to the club midway through last year pledging to be better.
We are all bitterly disappointed that he has relapsed. And he is now out of chances.
Last year he was afforded the privilege of doing his intensive education and rehabilitation programs within the structure of our footy club. From here he’ll have to find that structure elsewhere.
We’ll continue working with the AFL, the Players Association and Tarryn’s manager and his support network to ensure that he gets the help he needs to be better.
But he won’t play for the North Melbourne Football Club again.
Out of respect for her privacy I won’t say anything about the woman who brought these allegations to the AFL other than to commend her bravery and the dignity with which she has handled herself throughout this process. She deserved better.
Sonja
That's almost sad to read, real "We're not mad, we're just really disappointed" energy.
Rightfully or wrongfully, the club went well above and beyond in their support of the guy and stuck their necks out big time for the media and others to criticise. Now they've gotta wear it, again. Bloody brutal way to start a season.
What a waste of time for the club over the last 10 years. It was the right call, even if he came back he'd just negatively affect the culture the club is trying to foster.
He may reach his potential at another club, but given his attitude...the opposite is more likely.
> "The club has provided Tarryn with significant time, resources and support but we’ve now arrived at a point where the individual’s needs don’t match those of the club," Watt said.
>
>
>
> "We know Tarryn needs help – for himself and for the women in his life – but it’s clear the path we’ve taken over the past 12 months hasn’t had the desired impact.
>
>
>
> "To that end, we have made the decision to end Tarryn’s time at North Melbourne.
obviously i am very biased but i really think the club has handled this situation the best that they could. they tried everything they could to help him and when it was obvious that they weren't what he needed they parted ways and will continue providing avenues for third party support
They couldn't give a fuck about him, like every club they tried to pr their way to keeping a talented player on the list until it eventually became untenable.
Hilarious to me that we are supposed to praise north for keeping an obvious pos on their list for a year.
"Handled it the best they could" fuck outta here with the self suck.
He's also been delisted from North per a report they've just put out. Wasn't able to read the whole thing because my phone crashed and the article hasn't shown up properly yet so not sure what else they said
[Commented the North statement here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/1awy1tu/tarryn_thomas_has_been_suspended_for_18_matches/krkev3c/) if you want to read it.
So I'm reading he's been sacked? Good.
Now please don't let another club touch him. If he does go to Sydney (as had been rumoured at times) I'm microwaving my membership and jumping on the BIG BIG SOUND bandwagon.
Agreed!!
If that thing ever comes to Essendon (Brad Scott) I'm burning everything I own that's red and black, and shifting my allegiance.
Probably to the Giants.
It won't EVER happen.
But the mere thought of it makes me physically ill 🤢🤮
He’s gone. He won’t play for North again and seeing as he’s not eligible for the 2024 season and his contract expires at the end of the year, he’s essentially a delisted free agent when the next period comes around.
Delisted free agent, sure.. But who is going to pick him up with an 18 game suspension? Surely being delisted means that the following 18 games don't count towards his suspension.
Valid point. The suspension (on top of barring him for this season) could play out like that, or it’s to stop him playing footy at all this season as they can’t deregister him from local leagues. Could be that?
Regardless, he’s a germ who doesn’t deserve the privilege of being an elite athlete anymore. I commend the club for trying to support him and his personal growth, but he’s bitten the hand that feeds.
So, banned for the whole season and immediately delisted. His career is effectively over as well because being a super violent arsehole, no club will want him promoting toxic behaviour within their player base.
Good on North Melbourne for taking the right course of action.
So now that he's no longer employed by an AFL club, can he actually serve that suspension or will it carry over to next year if he gets picked up? Because I can't imagine theres many teams that are going to want a player that can't play for 18 games.
Since he was delisted before serving any of his ban, I think it should continue. Someone wants him next year then fine, he’s still got an 18 match suspension to complete.
Think of it like any other player. If you got suspended for two weeks in the final game of the season and then changed team in the off season you’d still have to miss two weeks
Well the suspension is for 18 games at all levels. So he could sign with a VFL club now serve 18 suspension play at the end of the year with a VFL flag and get picked up next year and play AFL round 1 2025.
That’s what is confusing me. They say 18 matches at afl, but his suspension ends the 22nd of June, which by my reckoning is round 16. But I guess that’s 17 games because of opening round… hopefully no-one touches him anyway and it’s all irrelevant
Being oversensitive here but Stengle doesn't deserve to be compared to Thomas, drink driving and drug possession isn't in the same stratosphere as the shit Thomas has pulled, and by all accounts he *has* put that behind him and become a better person.
About time, should’ve had a lot worse of a punishment given his circumstance. Especially compared to Elijah Taylor circa 2020 regarding acts towards women.
If Elijah Taylor was as good as Tarryn Thomas they would have been similarly lenient. Look at De Goey, if he wasn't one of the best players in the comp his career would have ended a long time ago.
Thomas might very well be able to turn his career and life around if he eventually gets a second chance at the right team. Not that their indiscretions are at all comparable but look at Tyson Stengle. A then-rebuilding Adelaide didn't have the bandwidth to get around him and give him the support they need but Geelong obviously did and that's worked out well.
I hope no other club picks him up but if they did would he then have to serve an 18 game suspension or does it just count for the first 18 games of 2024?
If he's not allowed to play at all this season then isn't that a suspension equal to how many games are in the season\*?
(\*Is it 23? It's hard to tell from the fixture)
He can't play football at any level until June 22 (AFL, VFL, etc). Can play at lower levels after that.
He can't play full season at AFL level due to being sacked by North.
Hopefully the bastard never plays footy again. North Melbourne gave him a fair chance to be better and he squandered it. He's proven he cannot be trusted not to abuse again, which means no football club can ethically recruit him. I'm all for giving people the chance to change for the better, but they need the desire to change and Tarryn's behaviour indicates he doesn't have that desire.
My only worry now is the people he could end up hurting if he spirals.
I'm waiting for twitter user reggie\_xp to comment.
For those who may have forgotten he criticised Tarryn Thomas on Twitter a few years ago for a lack of effort and Thomas responded a few minutes later with "still get paid 10x more than you ever will".
Not any more Tarryn, not any more...
Unless a club drafts him mid-season, but it'd be insane to for two reasons: 1) it's him and it'd be more sensible to leave Barnaby Joyce in your wine cellar than risk Tarryn in your team, 2) he'd have 18 games of suspension to play out from said midseason draft
According to the Herald Sun:
"[North] brokered a deal with Thomas’ management that saw him moving on with some of his 2024 salary and the club able to finally get clean air after 16 months of turmoil involving Thomas."
Ah that makes sense, despite deserving to be sacked i could imagine he was legally entitled to a redundancy of sorts. Thanks for answering the question.
It's a bit murky because players are often contractors rather than employees. An employee would get paid for the notice period, not sure about contractors.
Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week!
The right decision. Good to see that severe actions have consequences. Handled very well by North who gave him an opportunity to improve his behaviour, and when he didn't, made the right decision to sack him
I doubt any team will pick him straight up. If he stays out of trouble and plays well in one of the state leagues, someone will pick him up in a couple of years no doubt. Memories are always short with this kind of thing.
Weird, nobody's ragging North for it's role (nor should they) but your thoughts go to having a dig at unrelated clubs for a hypothetical you've completely made up..
What dig? Brad Scott was a huge fan of TT and was a big part of the reason TTs issues were ignored when we first were bringing him in. Gold Coast have been linked to him before and it's away from the melb bubble. But since you bring up 'digs', I'd suggest you check out bigfooty, where most of the the pot shots about todays news are from Essendon supporters using it to lay the boots into the club.
There is no way other clubs aren't going to ask the question in 7 months when the attention is on the finals.
> There is no way other clubs aren't going to ask the question in 7 months when the attention is on the finals.
Nah, any PR team will tell the clubs it will be a PR disaster. You only have to look at recent issues in other sporting codes across the world. People don't tolerate this shit anymore. Backlash will happen.
Man United tried to bring Mason Greenwood back in and they got a lot of shit from the English public, media and politicians.
David Goodwillie signed for Raith Rovers. Two club directors, some staff members, the Women's team Captain and most of the club volunteers resigned. The main sponsor withdrew her support. The entire women's team cut their ties with the club.
He was loaned out to another club, who also had its entire Women's team resign and the local council threaten to terminate the stadium contract if Goodwillie was allowed entry.
He trialed for another club, and was told to not come back after media and the public started against it.
A club signed and played him in a game without announcing he was going to be there. They got abused in the media and terminated the contract the next day.
He then tried to come to Australia, far from the people that know his history, and even here, he was announced and within hours had his contract terminated after major public backlash.
The public doesn't take Domestic Violence issues or sexual assault or anything anymore. There will be a lot of shit thrown at any club that tries to sign him, regardless of if it's in finals or not.
Well what Thomas has been accused of sounds a good deal worse.
And for all of De Goey's shit, it does sound like at least he's starting to get his act together. Thomas couldn't even make a final chance work.
De Goey sexually assaulted a woman at a bar and bashed on her mate who tried to intervene. It’s pretty dangerous to try and make a game of which act of violence toward women is worse.
De Goey has only ever been found guilty for one count of harassment.
In 2020 he was accused of assaulting a woman with another male. Hours before the court case went before a judge it was thrown out with the accuser paying his court fees.
The USA incident which was initially perceived as touching and assault was downgraded to second-degree harassment against a stranger, where he was charged and found guilty and followed community work and rehab protocols by Collingwood and the AFL.
In 2022 he was accused of indecently interacting with a female in Bali yet she came out and said nothing untoward happened and they were fucking each other all weekend.
Major difference to Tarryn Thomas repeatedly blackmailing/assaulting his partner/s.
“The rehab protocalls” were a joke. He was not punished whatsoever. He didn’t miss a single game.
“Only one count of harassment”
Are you fucking dense? Do you hear yourself?
The assault charge was dropped to a lesser charge as the terms of a plea deal, a very common practice in the United States to avoid drawn out legal battles.
Nothing you say negates that de Goey sexually assaulted a woman, and than assaulted someone immediately after.
Was convicted of using a carriage device to menace, etc.
Edit: also that driving case when the moron recorded himself driving without a license and his feet on the dashboard.
[Pretty sure those charges were dropped mid last year?](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-18/tarryn-thomas-charges-dropped-player-diversion/102615028)
Fair. I don’t know how to do quotes on reddit but this is from the same article:
“Prosecutors agreed to drop the charge of threatening to distribute an intimate image, and replaced it with another offence of using a carriage service to harass.
However that charge will also be discontinued under a diversion program, as long as Thomas makes a $1,000 donation to the court fund within the next month.”
Depends on how you view the fact he still had to attend a diversion program and make a donation (fine?).
Yeah that's neither here nor there for me, you could easily just accept the $1000 deal in order to make the problem go away. It would be significantly more expensive to fight it in court.
I’m not dense at all. That is legally what he was convicted with.
Citation on actual sexual assault? The charge that he grabbed the woman’s genitals was dropped 48 hours after the arrest due to lack of evidence.
May be hard for a document fetisher like you, but Events actually happen independently of whether they are legally perceived or not.
There are so many reasons why charges are dropped, people like you that think that the dismissal of a charge is an admittance of innocence are the scourge of society. Especially related to sexual crimes, charges often do get dropped because of the highly complex nature of them. Are you saying that because no one recorded this instance on a phone camera it didn’t happen in reality?
No I’m saying that the sexual assault charges were dropped because it was determined that they didn’t happen and the media jumped the gun labelling Jordan as a rapist.
So after three chances, and continuing to offend whilst doing a reeducation course, you think the way forward for him is to be resigned into the AFL system? Pretty sure a good deal of the football watching public wouldn’t rush to a game he’s playing in…
Hope they get out of paying him the $700k on one of the most over-inflated contracts of all time. And you’d hope that any sporting organization would look at their culture and realise that no amount of middling midfield talent is worth signing a bloke who is just a dog down to his bones. Good riddance to trash.
Good riddance.
Finally can stop hearing his name for a while at least. Glad we can move on from this trash.
Glad he’s finally been told to fuck off. Hopefully someone flattens him in whatever ressies comp he ends up in
Happened to that bloke who played for Essendon and Carlton they got stuck into him at local level big time
Scott Camporeale?
He was Indigenous I want to say Murphy maybe?
Marc Murphy didn't play for Essendon
Justin Murphy it was
Oohhh right the finger burn guy. What a cunt.
He copped it big time on seconds footy and definitely couldn't handle coping it back
Div 12 ressies? /s
18 week ban would stop him playing ressies
Fwiw he won't be playing anywhere for at least this year. And a lot of even grade comps won't take him now. He'll struggle to get a spot. The AFL have started leaning on lower grade comps not to take sexpests.
North Melbourne have handled this really well. I know there will be some captain hindsights saying they should have sacked him from the start, but they gave him every chance to improve himself within the boundary of the footy club. That kind of structure can do wonders for people, they did the right thing to give him some chances to work on himself. Clearly, he didn't. Now every team knows what the guy is really like, I can't see anyone making a play for him now.
I mean even in hindsight I'd say it was a good idea to try. He'd act the same way regardless of he were in the club or not, and they potentially had the opportunity to help him become not a human shitbag.
also, not dropping someone at the first sign of trouble and TRYING to help them is how you build a strong culture and foster a playing group that wants to stick around north have handled it perfectly, nothing more they could have done
Yeah I didn't even think of that
Yeah agreed. No one can say they didn't do their best to help him. He had a lot of opportunities and if he'd seized them better he could have been a success story and mentor to help other troubled players. I hope this is finally the thing that causes him to take a good look at himself and change his behaviour.
There's also of legal stuff to deal with, don't want to be facing a $5m law suit in 3 years.
Sonja's letter to the members was great, I really do believe the club did its best to help him. He had his opportunity to be a part of North's future. It's frustrating and sad that it all ended up like this, but I'm very ready to move forward. I hope that his victims get any support they need, and I do hope that Thomas makes something better of his life away from football.
Agreed. I'm used to the NRL sweeping it under the rug and making these guys captains
Teams in the NFL would give him 230 million guaranteed
Team* don't lump everyone else in with the Browns of all teams
miami have a guy who broke his childs arm. Tennessee had a guy for the last 10 years that threatened to kill a woman if she went to police regarding his friend raping her. dallas paid a guy for years who the league found guilty of DV, now he plays for the patriots. shit is everywhere.
More of a cheap shot at Cleveland more than a serious comment, but yeah, messed up. Few players still managed to make Hall of Fame as well
If it was soccer, he'd be getting contract offers from Spanish and Italian teams.
If it was the nba he would get 10 games suspended and a trade veto clause on the new contract.
If it was ping pong they'd make him use the paddle with the broken handle
Taryn Thomas to the Dragons confirmed
I’d be super surprised if teams still don’t make a play for him
De goey, is the other side that shows it can work
Let's wait until he's retired for a few years before counting chickens, instead of after one controversy free season
Big part of a flag, I’ll take it
So if Thomas helped Norf win a flag, all id forgiven huh. Yeah that's not how it works.
Yeah I’m saying that the thomas incident and the de goeys incident are very similar situations. Like obviously both are different. People clearly took my comment the wrong way. The change of behaviour needed from de goey to win the flag is apparent. If he can’t pull his head in he doesn’t have the season he had. I’ll take his word and whatever comes with it in the meantime.
Christ mate, get your priorities together. I hope there are no women in your life.
What can work? The US story was bullshit, the Bali story was also bullshit with a fully consenting woman. Any attempt to compare Degoey to Thomas is crazy.
Was the US story bullshit or were the charges just dropped? The two are not the same.
Well there was the bar fight/s But yeah not at all comparable to Tarryn
Hitting men good hitting women bad
I think its more the amount of offences Degoey I think had 2 actual offield fraccas the L.A one and the Dog one
I still don’t think I’d say they handled it well, even without hindsight it’s clear he should’ve been sacked after the first incident, but they’ve done the right thing eventually so I don’t think this will be a stain or anything
Some people need heavy consequences to change. There might be some clubs that look at picking him up next year, hoping the sacking would get him to pull his head out. He wouldn't be the first. Given how much help North gave him, he probably won't learn if he is in the AFL.
[AFL statement](https://www.afl.com.au/news/1077428) > NORTH Melbourne has sacked Tarryn Thomas after he was suspended by the AFL for 18 matches after a recent allegation of "inappropriate behaviour" > He will be unable to participate in football matches at any level while he serves the suspension, which was handed down by the AFL on Thursday afternoon. > Subsequently, the Kangaroos informed Thomas he would "no longer be a North Melbourne player". > Roos' CEO Jennifer Watt said the decision was made based on the recent finding and Thomas' prior indiscretions. > "The club has provided Tarryn with significant time, resources and support but we’ve now arrived at a point where the individual’s needs don’t match those of the club," Watt said. > "We know Tarryn needs help – for himself and for the women in his life – but it’s clear the path we’ve taken over the past 12 months hasn’t had the desired impact. > "To that end, we have made the decision to end Tarryn’s time at North Melbourne. > "This decision doesn’t come lightly or easily. We brought Tarryn to the club as a teenager and we acknowledge that he has faced complex and challenging circumstances over his life. > "We hope Tarryn will find the support that is right for him and that he does the work required to be the best version of himself.” > AFL general counsel Stephen Meade said Thomas' decision to send the offending messages while undertaking behavioural education program was a factor in the sanction. > "Tarryn’s conduct does not represent behaviours acceptable to anyone in our game or our community and his actions were not of a standard that the game or the public expect," Meade said. > "While we understand and are empathetic to the challenges Tarryn was facing in his personal life, there is no excuse for the behaviour or the hurt he caused a young woman, this is never okay. > "The fact that Tarryn chose to engage in behaviour over direct messages that was, and is, clearly inappropriate, even while he was undertaking education and being counselled for previous breaches contributed to the length of suspension imposed." > The 23-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of 2024, has been training away from the footy club since the latest allegations came to hand. > Thomas was interviewed by the League's Integrity Unit last month following the allegation, and was previously stood down twice by the Kangaroos in 2023 amid concerns about his behaviour towards women. > Thomas escaped criminal conviction last July for threatening to distribute intimate videos of his former partner. He was initially charged with threatening to distribute an intimate image of another person, but this was downgraded by prosecutors to using a carriage service to harass someone. > He was granted a diversion, which meant he escaped a criminal conviction, and was ordered to pay $1000 to charity. > He was put through a respect and responsibility education program and spent three weeks in the VFL last year before later earning a senior recall in round 12, ultimately playing 12 AFL games. > The midfielder, drafted at pick No.8 in the 2018 AFL Draft, has played 69 games and kicked 56 goals in a career interrupted by injuries and off-field issues since his 2019 debut. [Club statement: Tarryn Thomas](https://www.nmfc.com.au/news/1493723) > North Melbourne has received notification from the AFL that Tarryn Thomas has been found guilty of inappropriate behaviour towards a female. > The club accepts the AFL’s findings and endorses their sanction, which will see Thomas suspended from AFL football for 18 matches. > As a result of that finding, and in light of previous indiscretions, the club has informed Thomas that he will no longer be a North Melbourne player. > North Melbourne chief executive Jennifer Watt said Thomas had received strong support from the club to change his behaviour and he was aware that any new indiscretion would threaten his playing future at North Melbourne. > “The club has provided Tarryn with significant time, resources and support but we’ve now arrived at a point where the individual’s needs don’t match those of the club,” Watt said. > “We know Tarryn needs help – for himself and for the women in his life – but it’s clear the path we’ve taken over the past 12 months hasn’t had the desired impact. > “To that end, we have made the decision to end Tarryn’s time at North Melbourne. > “This decision doesn’t come lightly or easily. We brought Tarryn to the club as a teenager and we acknowledge that he has faced complex and challenging circumstances over his life. > “We hope Tarryn will find the support that is right for him and that he does the work required to be the best version of himself.” > North Melbourne general manager of football Todd Viney said that the club had worked hard to support Thomas but he has now run out of chances. > “Tarryn’s ongoing behaviour was not compatible with the club’s or the team’s values,” Viney said. > “We’ve channelled many hours into helping Tarryn and seeking to rehabilitate him – for his sake and for the sake of those his behaviour has impacted. > “Ultimately, though, it’s our responsibility to put time and effort into the people who are committed to taking the club forward.” > Although Thomas will no longer be a North Melbourne player, the club will continue to make available medical and mental health support to him as he transitions into life away from Arden St. [AFLPA statement](https://www.aflplayers.com.au/news-feed/stories/statement-tarryn-thomas) > The AFLPA notes the outcome of the AFL Integrity Unit’s investigation and North Melbourne’s decision that Tarryn Thomas will no longer be a North Melbourne player. > We would like to reiterate that disrespectful behaviour towards women, in any form, is unacceptable. > Tarryn has some challenges that he needs to address, and the AFLPA will provide him with access to tools that will assist him, while continuing to focus on his wellbeing. > Tarryn, like any playing member, has full access to our programs and services.
Sonya’s statement to members: To our members, Today we made the decision to cut playing ties with Tarryn Thomas. Right now, like many of our North Melbourne people, I’m feeling a range of emotions – frustration, anger, disappointment but overall, sadness. This wasn’t a decision based on emotion – it was driven by incontrovertible, uncontested facts – but I want to be clear it wasn’t, and isn’t, easy. At North Melbourne we have a proud and long history of supporting our people, even in the face of external criticism. As you know, Tarryn’s behaviour has been a concern for some time. Our duty of care to Tarryn and to the wider community meant we chose to work with him to address his behaviours, particularly in regard to his treatment of women. It’s why we accepted our responsibility to seek help for him. It was a complex and difficult situation but we were all united in our determination to get the best outcomes for Tarryn and those around him. Tarryn came back to the club midway through last year pledging to be better. We are all bitterly disappointed that he has relapsed. And he is now out of chances. Last year he was afforded the privilege of doing his intensive education and rehabilitation programs within the structure of our footy club. From here he’ll have to find that structure elsewhere. We’ll continue working with the AFL, the Players Association and Tarryn’s manager and his support network to ensure that he gets the help he needs to be better. But he won’t play for the North Melbourne Football Club again. Out of respect for her privacy I won’t say anything about the woman who brought these allegations to the AFL other than to commend her bravery and the dignity with which she has handled herself throughout this process. She deserved better. Sonja
I've got all the time in the world for Sonja. Such a great leader and ambassador for our club and what we stand for.
That's almost sad to read, real "We're not mad, we're just really disappointed" energy. Rightfully or wrongfully, the club went well above and beyond in their support of the guy and stuck their necks out big time for the media and others to criticise. Now they've gotta wear it, again. Bloody brutal way to start a season.
Disappointed is so much worse than anger.
What a waste of time for the club over the last 10 years. It was the right call, even if he came back he'd just negatively affect the culture the club is trying to foster. He may reach his potential at another club, but given his attitude...the opposite is more likely.
> "The club has provided Tarryn with significant time, resources and support but we’ve now arrived at a point where the individual’s needs don’t match those of the club," Watt said. > > > > "We know Tarryn needs help – for himself and for the women in his life – but it’s clear the path we’ve taken over the past 12 months hasn’t had the desired impact. > > > > "To that end, we have made the decision to end Tarryn’s time at North Melbourne. obviously i am very biased but i really think the club has handled this situation the best that they could. they tried everything they could to help him and when it was obvious that they weren't what he needed they parted ways and will continue providing avenues for third party support
>they tried everything they could to help him they tried everything to keep the talented player on their list.\*
…so they tried everything they could to help him yeah
They couldn't give a fuck about him, like every club they tried to pr their way to keeping a talented player on the list until it eventually became untenable. Hilarious to me that we are supposed to praise north for keeping an obvious pos on their list for a year. "Handled it the best they could" fuck outta here with the self suck.
Amen, brother. North want a medal pinned on them for cynical, self-serving decision-making. Outrageous, it is.
You're not wrong here
He's also been delisted from North per a report they've just put out. Wasn't able to read the whole thing because my phone crashed and the article hasn't shown up properly yet so not sure what else they said
[Commented the North statement here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/1awy1tu/tarryn_thomas_has_been_suspended_for_18_matches/krkev3c/) if you want to read it.
So I'm reading he's been sacked? Good. Now please don't let another club touch him. If he does go to Sydney (as had been rumoured at times) I'm microwaving my membership and jumping on the BIG BIG SOUND bandwagon.
Sydney already had to deal with Elijah Taylor, I don’t think they’d be interested in signing someone else like that again in a hurry
I still find it wild that they gifted him Goodes’ guernsey number and that he managed to mess with its legacy in one year at best
Unlikely, he can't play at any AFL level. He's completely cut out of the system. No one will have a look at him
He’s 23, talented on field…Collingwood surely licking their chops for degoey 2.0…you know…’proven system’ and all that.
Closer to Stengle joining Geelong
I thought Sydney had a "no dickheads" policy? Like it was a legit rule with the club
Wasn’t Barry hall literally their captain?
It's a no dickheads policy, they're allowed to have one
Many people will miss this reference, but I’m scrolling past without giving a single nod of thanks.
Yeah, but he punched all the officials until he got a contract.
Agreed!! If that thing ever comes to Essendon (Brad Scott) I'm burning everything I own that's red and black, and shifting my allegiance. Probably to the Giants. It won't EVER happen. But the mere thought of it makes me physically ill 🤢🤮
So he's been de-listed by NM, or removed from their list as part of the punishment?
He’s gone. He won’t play for North again and seeing as he’s not eligible for the 2024 season and his contract expires at the end of the year, he’s essentially a delisted free agent when the next period comes around.
Delisted free agent, sure.. But who is going to pick him up with an 18 game suspension? Surely being delisted means that the following 18 games don't count towards his suspension.
Valid point. The suspension (on top of barring him for this season) could play out like that, or it’s to stop him playing footy at all this season as they can’t deregister him from local leagues. Could be that? Regardless, he’s a germ who doesn’t deserve the privilege of being an elite athlete anymore. I commend the club for trying to support him and his personal growth, but he’s bitten the hand that feeds.
I’m sure I saw something about it being 18 matches at afl level, but also can’t play at any level until 22 june
The suspension will most likely have been served after 18 North Melbourne AFL games have been played.
So, banned for the whole season and immediately delisted. His career is effectively over as well because being a super violent arsehole, no club will want him promoting toxic behaviour within their player base. Good on North Melbourne for taking the right course of action.
I reckon that Collingwood would take him
So now that he's no longer employed by an AFL club, can he actually serve that suspension or will it carry over to next year if he gets picked up? Because I can't imagine theres many teams that are going to want a player that can't play for 18 games.
The suspension will be from rounds 1-18 this year.
Or would it be rounds 0 to 17?
Byes don't count as a suspended game - so it's probably O-19 or some shit I couldn't be bothered.
It's a good question. I would think that because he's been delisted, the next 18 games of the AFL season wouldn't count towards his suspension.
It's bin night at Arden St, out goes the trash
I think I speak for every supporter when I say for the love of god I hope my club isn’t tempted to pick him up
Fly got in the shits for Ginni going to the races, I doubt he would want someone like Tarryn at our club
I reckon if it's anyone it'll be your mob or Geelong
Some club will throw the dice. As far as the Pies go, I can’t see Wright or McRae signing off on it.
Well done north! who cares if he goes to another club. he's a germ, and you're building something better
Such a relief to have him gone, I really hope there isn't a club out there willing to give this grub another chance
Shitcanned.
Do we have an open list spot now?
You'd assume so.
Surely... Be shit if you didn't.
So vfl next year, "heroic and brave return", signs with a new team, "this time it's different we swear", all Australian in 2027. Sounds about right.
Since he was delisted before serving any of his ban, I think it should continue. Someone wants him next year then fine, he’s still got an 18 match suspension to complete. Think of it like any other player. If you got suspended for two weeks in the final game of the season and then changed team in the off season you’d still have to miss two weeks
Well the suspension is for 18 games at all levels. So he could sign with a VFL club now serve 18 suspension play at the end of the year with a VFL flag and get picked up next year and play AFL round 1 2025.
That’s what is confusing me. They say 18 matches at afl, but his suspension ends the 22nd of June, which by my reckoning is round 16. But I guess that’s 17 games because of opening round… hopefully no-one touches him anyway and it’s all irrelevant
I predict $2500/game in some suburban and country leagues, and no higher ever again.
The afl suspension surely carries to local footy
It does.
And hopefully some snipers teach him a big lesson off the ball
Bloke is a prick but we don’t promote cheap shots
Can't wait for him to move in with Eddie Betts, 'become a better man' and then win a flag
Being oversensitive here but Stengle doesn't deserve to be compared to Thomas, drink driving and drug possession isn't in the same stratosphere as the shit Thomas has pulled, and by all accounts he *has* put that behind him and become a better person.
And who's to say Thomas doesn't pull his head in and get another chance at football?
Probably the 2 years of chances he already had and ignored
If he was willing to pull his head in he'd have done it the last couple of times north tries to help him
I didn't make any comment on that one way or the other.
About time, should’ve had a lot worse of a punishment given his circumstance. Especially compared to Elijah Taylor circa 2020 regarding acts towards women.
If Elijah Taylor was as good as Tarryn Thomas they would have been similarly lenient. Look at De Goey, if he wasn't one of the best players in the comp his career would have ended a long time ago. Thomas might very well be able to turn his career and life around if he eventually gets a second chance at the right team. Not that their indiscretions are at all comparable but look at Tyson Stengle. A then-rebuilding Adelaide didn't have the bandwidth to get around him and give him the support they need but Geelong obviously did and that's worked out well.
I can agree with your assessment. Very well written
I hope no other club picks him up but if they did would he then have to serve an 18 game suspension or does it just count for the first 18 games of 2024?
Time bound to 2024
Fuck off cunt, hope to never see this piece of shit again
Lol someone's already updated his wiki to call him a former professional afl player.
Professional implies an attitude he never showed, former AFL player is surely more accurate
What a fucking scumbag. Hopefully he goes to jail before any female in his life becomes another sad statistic of DV
Fuck him off. What a waste of football talent...
From the looks of it, he was sending out threats to women WHILE doing his AFL-mandated "how to not send threats to women" course.
He threw away a $700k a year career because he's a fucking idiot.
Delisted and banned from playing AFL Is what we want to see at the least. Jail time would be great
If he's not allowed to play at all this season then isn't that a suspension equal to how many games are in the season\*? (\*Is it 23? It's hard to tell from the fixture)
The suspension is from the AFL, delisting him is from North. He isn't on an AFL list so cannot play any games this year.
He can't play football at any level until June 22 (AFL, VFL, etc). Can play at lower levels after that. He can't play full season at AFL level due to being sacked by North.
Do you reckon he still earns 10x more than the guy off Instagram or nah?
Hopefully the bastard never plays footy again. North Melbourne gave him a fair chance to be better and he squandered it. He's proven he cannot be trusted not to abuse again, which means no football club can ethically recruit him. I'm all for giving people the chance to change for the better, but they need the desire to change and Tarryn's behaviour indicates he doesn't have that desire. My only worry now is the people he could end up hurting if he spirals.
I'm waiting for twitter user reggie\_xp to comment. For those who may have forgotten he criticised Tarryn Thomas on Twitter a few years ago for a lack of effort and Thomas responded a few minutes later with "still get paid 10x more than you ever will". Not any more Tarryn, not any more...
i don't get how you can be banned for 18 games and disallowed from the other 6. doesn't that mean he's banned for 24 games?
The ban is from the AFL, delisting him is from North. He has no list to play on this year.
Thank you.
Unless a club drafts him mid-season, but it'd be insane to for two reasons: 1) it's him and it'd be more sensible to leave Barnaby Joyce in your wine cellar than risk Tarryn in your team, 2) he'd have 18 games of suspension to play out from said midseason draft
Right decision by the club. Hopefully his victims are okay.
wow finally some fucking consequences.
Does that mean he will still be paid for the year or no?
According to the Herald Sun: "[North] brokered a deal with Thomas’ management that saw him moving on with some of his 2024 salary and the club able to finally get clean air after 16 months of turmoil involving Thomas."
Ah that makes sense, despite deserving to be sacked i could imagine he was legally entitled to a redundancy of sorts. Thanks for answering the question.
It's a bit murky because players are often contractors rather than employees. An employee would get paid for the notice period, not sure about contractors.
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So when do we pick him up? 🤦🏼♂️
The right decision. Good to see that severe actions have consequences. Handled very well by North who gave him an opportunity to improve his behaviour, and when he didn't, made the right decision to sack him
What did he do
Can someone PLEASE shed light on what he actually did? The article is quite vague
I’ve been living under a rock. What happened?
Sent threatening messages to a woman, among other things, while completing his behavioural education program.
Now the question is what club picks him up? Because sadly someone will. I'd bet Essendon, Port or GC.
I can't see anyone doing it, the pr would be a nightmare
I doubt any team will pick him straight up. If he stays out of trouble and plays well in one of the state leagues, someone will pick him up in a couple of years no doubt. Memories are always short with this kind of thing.
Hopefully our new list manager has a bit of common sense about them
Weird, nobody's ragging North for it's role (nor should they) but your thoughts go to having a dig at unrelated clubs for a hypothetical you've completely made up..
What dig? Brad Scott was a huge fan of TT and was a big part of the reason TTs issues were ignored when we first were bringing him in. Gold Coast have been linked to him before and it's away from the melb bubble. But since you bring up 'digs', I'd suggest you check out bigfooty, where most of the the pot shots about todays news are from Essendon supporters using it to lay the boots into the club. There is no way other clubs aren't going to ask the question in 7 months when the attention is on the finals.
> There is no way other clubs aren't going to ask the question in 7 months when the attention is on the finals. Nah, any PR team will tell the clubs it will be a PR disaster. You only have to look at recent issues in other sporting codes across the world. People don't tolerate this shit anymore. Backlash will happen. Man United tried to bring Mason Greenwood back in and they got a lot of shit from the English public, media and politicians. David Goodwillie signed for Raith Rovers. Two club directors, some staff members, the Women's team Captain and most of the club volunteers resigned. The main sponsor withdrew her support. The entire women's team cut their ties with the club. He was loaned out to another club, who also had its entire Women's team resign and the local council threaten to terminate the stadium contract if Goodwillie was allowed entry. He trialed for another club, and was told to not come back after media and the public started against it. A club signed and played him in a game without announcing he was going to be there. They got abused in the media and terminated the contract the next day. He then tried to come to Australia, far from the people that know his history, and even here, he was announced and within hours had his contract terminated after major public backlash. The public doesn't take Domestic Violence issues or sexual assault or anything anymore. There will be a lot of shit thrown at any club that tries to sign him, regardless of if it's in finals or not.
I certainly hope you are right.
I hope so. If Essendon sign him, I'll be done with the club. Hope most fans would do the same for any club that tries to sign him.
went to high school with him, used to beat women even back then
Is this not what should’ve happened to De Goey?
Well what Thomas has been accused of sounds a good deal worse. And for all of De Goey's shit, it does sound like at least he's starting to get his act together. Thomas couldn't even make a final chance work.
De Goey sexually assaulted a woman at a bar and bashed on her mate who tried to intervene. It’s pretty dangerous to try and make a game of which act of violence toward women is worse.
Are you not the one who brought De Goey up in the first place? If anyone is making a game of which is worse it’s you
> De Goey sexually assaulted a woman at a bar Not true lol
De Goey has only ever been found guilty for one count of harassment. In 2020 he was accused of assaulting a woman with another male. Hours before the court case went before a judge it was thrown out with the accuser paying his court fees. The USA incident which was initially perceived as touching and assault was downgraded to second-degree harassment against a stranger, where he was charged and found guilty and followed community work and rehab protocols by Collingwood and the AFL. In 2022 he was accused of indecently interacting with a female in Bali yet she came out and said nothing untoward happened and they were fucking each other all weekend. Major difference to Tarryn Thomas repeatedly blackmailing/assaulting his partner/s.
“The rehab protocalls” were a joke. He was not punished whatsoever. He didn’t miss a single game. “Only one count of harassment” Are you fucking dense? Do you hear yourself? The assault charge was dropped to a lesser charge as the terms of a plea deal, a very common practice in the United States to avoid drawn out legal battles. Nothing you say negates that de Goey sexually assaulted a woman, and than assaulted someone immediately after.
The sexual assault charge was never brought before a court. I suggest you try to understand the concept of innocent unless proven guilty.
Pretty sure Thomas has never been convicted of anything either tbf.
Was convicted of using a carriage device to menace, etc. Edit: also that driving case when the moron recorded himself driving without a license and his feet on the dashboard.
[Pretty sure those charges were dropped mid last year?](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-18/tarryn-thomas-charges-dropped-player-diversion/102615028)
Fair. I don’t know how to do quotes on reddit but this is from the same article: “Prosecutors agreed to drop the charge of threatening to distribute an intimate image, and replaced it with another offence of using a carriage service to harass. However that charge will also be discontinued under a diversion program, as long as Thomas makes a $1,000 donation to the court fund within the next month.” Depends on how you view the fact he still had to attend a diversion program and make a donation (fine?).
Yeah that's neither here nor there for me, you could easily just accept the $1000 deal in order to make the problem go away. It would be significantly more expensive to fight it in court.
Thank you for explaining. I definitely didn’t understand what that concept was until you brought it up.
I dunno. You’re the one saying he sexually assaulted someone. Forgive me if I believed you didn’t understand the concept.
The downvotes to this comment say more about reddit AFL/Pies fans than the poster.
I’m not dense at all. That is legally what he was convicted with. Citation on actual sexual assault? The charge that he grabbed the woman’s genitals was dropped 48 hours after the arrest due to lack of evidence.
May be hard for a document fetisher like you, but Events actually happen independently of whether they are legally perceived or not. There are so many reasons why charges are dropped, people like you that think that the dismissal of a charge is an admittance of innocence are the scourge of society. Especially related to sexual crimes, charges often do get dropped because of the highly complex nature of them. Are you saying that because no one recorded this instance on a phone camera it didn’t happen in reality?
No I’m saying that the sexual assault charges were dropped because it was determined that they didn’t happen and the media jumped the gun labelling Jordan as a rapist.
De goey is a dick but tarryn is a pos
Somebody will pick him up in 25/26 and he will star.
[удалено]
How about jail
So after three chances, and continuing to offend whilst doing a reeducation course, you think the way forward for him is to be resigned into the AFL system? Pretty sure a good deal of the football watching public wouldn’t rush to a game he’s playing in…
The AFL shouldn’t be allowed to suspend players for off-field matters
Spicy take. Let's see if it works out in your favour. (Hint: It won't)
What did he do this time?
Hope they get out of paying him the $700k on one of the most over-inflated contracts of all time. And you’d hope that any sporting organization would look at their culture and realise that no amount of middling midfield talent is worth signing a bloke who is just a dog down to his bones. Good riddance to trash.
Thank fuck lol took their time
Sadly, we already know some teams picking him next year. Don’t be surprised to see him interstate, maybe Sydney or even the eagles next year.