Troubled footy star Tarryn Thomas cops a HUGE suspension for inappropriate behaviour with a woman – leaving his career hanging by a thread
- Major ban is the latest in a long line of problems for North Star
- Kangaroos will likely let him go due to suspension
- Thomas, 23, is banned from playing footy at any level
The AFL will suspend North Melbourne’s Tarryn Thomas for a whopping 18 weeks after he was found to have behaved inappropriately towards a woman – almost certainly meaning the end of his time with the Kangaroos.
Thomas’ suspension runs until July 22 and he will not be allowed to play footy at any level until then.
If North chooses to keep him on their books, he will only be allowed to play for the club in the final five games of the season.
However, the Kangaroos have a very good chance of retaining him given the series of off-field issues he has faced and the extremely poor return they have made on his contract, which is estimated to be between $600,000 and $700,000 per years worth. .
Thomas’ time with the Kangaroos is all but over thanks to the 18-week suspension, which will keep him off the pitch until July 22
The 23-year-old (pictured outside a pitch in Melbourne last year) will not be able to play any form of footy during his monstrous suspension
Thomas has been under investigation since January, when new allegations of inappropriate behavior towards a woman were made against him via the AFL’s respect and responsibility portal.
The 23-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the 2024 season, was terminated by the club twice last year, first in February and then in March, over concerns about his behavior towards women.
He completed a respect and responsibility education program and spent three weeks in the VFL before later earning a senior recall and eventually playing 12 AFL games last year.
In July 2023, Thomas left court without a criminal conviction 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.
Thomas was given a diversion, which meant he escaped a criminal conviction, and was ordered to pay $1,000 to charity.
He was not allowed to train at the club during the current investigation.
The ban is the latest in a long list of off-field disasters for the Kangaroos star, who avoided a criminal conviction for threatening to distribute intimate videos of his former partner.
Thomas (pictured last year fending off a tackler against Richmond) was sent to the VFL as punishment during the 2023 season
Earlier this week, AFL football boss Laura Kane refused to confirm whether North will face a salary cap over Thomas’ suspension, which had not been confirmed at the time.
Last April, North fined Thomas $5,000 for a video he posted on social media that showed him behind the wheel of his Mercedes with his feet on the dashboard as the vehicle drifted between two lanes.
He also had to donate another $5,000 to a road safety charity.
Drafted at No. 8 in the 2018 national draft, the midfielder has made 69 appearances and scored 56 goals in a career that has been interrupted by injuries and off-field issues since his debut in 2019.
After scoring eleven goals in twelve games last season, Thomas made a comeback at the end of last year after groin surgery.