NORTH Melbourne has sacked Tarryn Thomas after he was suspended by the AFL for 18 matches, with the League finding him guilty of inappropriate behaviour towards a woman.
Thomas 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 – who was contracted until the end of this season – he would no longer be a North Melbourne player.
The AFL investigation found Thomas had “engaged in multiple acts of misconduct including threatening a woman via direct messages multiple times”, and was thus guilty of several breaches of the AFL’s conduct unbecoming rules.
North’s footy boss Todd Viney said the club had no regrets about the way they’d handled Thomas.
“I can’t read Tarryn’s mind, but from my point of view, there’s two Tarryns. There’s the one we see day-to-day and there’s the one who when he’s in a relationship, he has some troubles in dealing with relationship issues,” Viney said.
“Hand on heart, I can put my head on the pillow and think we as a club have supported our player. He’s one of us, we took him as a 17-year-old, we know he had a challenging upbringing and background. And hand on heart, we thought we could help educate him, put him in contact with some of the best people in the state around respect and responsibility, social media and the like.
“We just didn’t get the result. Would we do anything different? No, we’d support our people and give them the opportunity to learn and get better.”
Viney said North Melbourne do not yet have any clarity as to how Thomas would move to another club for next season, should a team wish to recruit him, and that it would be worked out in the course of finalising the end of his contract.
“We’ve just come to the conclusion that he won’t be part of the playing future, so we’ll work with his manager and Tarryn as to how that finishes up,” Viney said.
“Every AFL club will make their own call. We tried our best and couldn’t get it done, so we’ll leave it up to each club to make their own decision.
“It’d be a shame if he didn’t play football again.”
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.”
North Melbourne president Dr Sonja Hood said she was frustrated, angry, disappointed and sad at the outcome and stressed that it was not an easy decision.
“Tarryn came back to the club midway through last year pledging to be better,” she said in a letter to members.
“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.”
