AFL: North Melbourne confirm Tarryn Thomas ‘will take time away from the club’

Tarryn Thomas “will be taking time out of North Melbourne” after the AFL’s integrity unit was informed of a new allegation against the 22-year-old on Wednesday.

Thomas made headlines last month after being accused of threatening to distribute an intimate image.

In a separate incident, he was pulled over by police while driving on a suspended license during the Kangaroos’ Christmas break.

More allegations aired in the media this week about Thomas’ treatment of women, with North Melbourne President Sonja Hood writing an open letter on Wednesday to address the “serious and conflicting allegations”.

The Kangaroos insisted they “take very seriously any allegations of threats of violence against women” before pledging to support the young footballer.

But on Wednesday night the club confirmed that he would be spending time out of the team after a new allegation came to light.

“Tarryn Thomas will take time out from the club after North Melbourne was informed of a new allegation of inappropriate behavior by the AFL Integrity Unit on Wednesday afternoon,” a declaration read.

He continued: “In the meantime, Thomas is expected to fulfill his obligations around his respectful behavior education and training program.”

According to News Corp, the AFL’s Integrity Unit heard allegations, prior to the latest, including:

• Telling a woman that you wanted to hit her, as well as insulting her like ‘shit’
• Throwing a lamp at a woman in a hotel room
• Sending threatening text messages, including ‘your time is coming’ while warning that she was ‘going to hit’ a woman’s friend
• A verbal and physical altercation at a nightclub in Prahran

In a flurry of text messages, Thomas allegedly tells a woman: “Are you kidding… keep talking shit… shit is coming soon… your turn is coming… shit *** is going down… I’m not a ***** to fuck me’.

Another woman reportedly told friends: “I’m too scared… I know he’s going to kill me.”

Another woman revealed how the soccer player sent other people intimate photos that he had taken of her.

Hood also gave insight into the past and present programs put in place by the club since Thomas’ past indiscretions came to light.

The club was aware of formal allegations against Tarryn during 2022 which were investigated by the AFL Integrity Unit. Tarryn and the club fully cooperated with those investigations,” Hood wrote.

“The advice provided by the AFL after these incidents was that Tarryn should receive training and education to deal with his behavioral problems.