North Melbourne

[EasternWest]

thomas should have never gotten a second chance and cooper harvey should have never gotten a chance to begin with. Did harvey embody the shinboner spirit when he sexually assaulted a drunk teenager at a party and sent the video to all of his friends?

wtf.

[mjp]

wtf.

This was from 2018 or 19 I think. Harvey was about the same age as the girl in question (I think they went to school together). I can't remember the details but drinking and mobile phones were involved...I'm not sure if he was the one IN the video or the one distributing the video but the police were 100% involved.

None of it was great.

[GVGjr]

It's being reported that Tarryn Thomas did not appear at AFL House this morning as he was supposed to amid fresh allegations of domestic violence.

[Axe Man]

It's being reported that Tarryn Thomas did not appear at AFL House this morning as he was supposed to amid fresh allegations of domestic violence.

Not quite what happened.

Tarryn Thomas will meet with the AFL Integrity Unit early next week, rather than on Thursday. A lack of legal representation has forced the interview with the North Melbourne player to be pushed back.

[GVGjr]

AFL 2024: Tarryn Thomas’s North Melbourne training exile ahead of Integrity Unit grilling

Tarryn Thomas’s AFL career remains in limbo as the North Melbourne star prepares to front the AFL Integrity Unit over allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Tarryn Thomas will continue to train away from North Melbourne’s main group as he awaits his interview at AFL House.

The embattled Kangaroo missed a lengthy match simulation session on Friday and will again skip training with his teammates on Monday.

Thomas was due to front the AFL Integrity Unit on Thursday to answer to allegations of inappropriate behaviour but the interview was postponed as he couldn’t arrange for his lawyers to be present.

It is understood the allegations stem from a complaint made by a woman to the integrity unit.

North Melbourne confirmed on Sunday that Thomas would be away from the group until after his meeting at AFL HQ.

The AFL said on Thursday it would speak to Thomas “as soon as possible next week” but didn’t have an updated date when asked by this masthead on Sunday.

The Roos have been training at La Trobe University in Bundoora while work is underway on the oval at Arden Street.

North Melbourne is due to face Collingwood in an unofficial pre-season match on February 21 and Thomas was due to fully ramp up his training in coming weeks after minor groin surgery slowed down his summer.

Thomas, 23, has dealt with a series of off-field issues in recent years, including a club-enforced suspension in February after accusations of threats of violence towards women.

He was directed to education training during the suspension and returned to the AFL side in round 12.

Thomas has also been fined for driving offences including a video in which he was seen driving a car while resting his feet on the centre console.

He played 12 matches last year and finished sixth in the club best-and-fairest.

A statement from North Melbourne on Thursday said the club would “not be in a position to comment on the new allegation of inappropriate behaviour against Thomas until after he has met with the AFL’s Integrity Unit”.

Thomas is out of contract at the end of 2024.

[bornadog]

Looks like they are training away from Arden st. Bit of Skinner reserve vibes

[D Mitchell]

Players are drafted, they come from everywhere, selected because of football ability. In the good old days of Eddie O'Halloran, Bill Harrington, Kevin Jackman, Georgie Bisset being neighbours and big kids playing kick to kick in Eleanor Street before the traffic got too heavy, toss in Dallas Patterson and John Cheel, are long gone. Administrations are no different. Dr Tony Capes, local medico replaced by Smorgo (interlude by Nick Columb) but going back, local Public Servant Harry Dolphin, president in 1961 and Otto Grobbecker, president in 1954, ran the music store in Droop Street.

North Melbourne is a fellow small club which had its days in the sun in the Barassi and Carey years. I don't get the disdain that some of us have, Doug Hawkins was a North supporter. I lived in Kensington for a while, just 'round the corner from Arden Street, there was a lot of 'How are the boys going to go today' in the shopping area of McCauley Road, west of the railway line, on Saturday mornings and a son of the legendry Jack Adams, Club Secretary and President, was my Best Man (reaching for the tissues). Jack told me that North, Footscray, South and Fitzroy used to vote as a block at VFL meetings. Ease up on North.

[Grantysghost]

Scott Thompson is my reason and that day they purposely goaded Baz.
I was ambivalent prior.
Now I'm ambivalent and wish them bad tidings

These days it's Clarko telling a female reporter "You'll get yours".

The Thomas stuff sounds sad for everyone. If true he probably shouldn't be an AFL player.

[bornadog]

Players are drafted, they come from everywhere, selected because of football ability. In the good old days of Eddie O'Halloran, Bill Harrington, Kevin Jackman, Georgie Bisset being neighbours and big kids playing kick to kick in Eleanor Street before the traffic got too heavy, toss in Dallas Patterson and John Cheel, are long gone. Administrations are no different. Dr Tony Capes, local medico replaced by Smorgo (interlude by Nick Columb) but going back, local Public Servant Harry Dolphin, president in 1961 and Otto Grobbecker, president in 1954, ran the music store in Droop Street.

North Melbourne is a fellow small club which had its days in the sun in the Barassi and Carey years. I don't get the disdain that some of us have, Doug Hawkins was a North supporter. I lived in Kensington for a while, just 'round the corner from Arden Street, there was a lot of 'How are the boys going to go today' in the shopping area of McCauley Road, west of the railway line, on Saturday mornings and a son of the legendry Jack Adams, Club Secretary and President, was my Best Man (reaching for the tissues). Jack told me that North, Footscray, South and Fitzroy used to vote as a block at VFL meetings. Ease up on North.

Personally, I can't stand them as a club. Nickname is Centrelink

[Sedat]

The Thomas stuff sounds sad for everyone. If true he probably shouldn't be an AFL player.

Why is it sad for Thomas? Sounds like he is a colossal asshole and his substandard abuse/behaviour has been tolerated/ignored for too long?

Ultimately your actions and behaviours are the only currency that you have, and on face value his are unacceptable and have been for a long time (even before this latest allegation). Either he owns his actions, or he makes excuses for them and the cycle will unfortunately continue.

As per usual, the usual sycophants in the media cesspit continue to be as silent on Thomas and his systematic pattern of abuse as they were vocal on De Goey and his one-off (consensual) act in Bali (the New York incident was completely refuted by police and all charges/allegations were very quickly withdrawn, of course with no apology forthcoming from the media scum who poured petrol on this at the time and with the Bali incident). These media vermin (we all know who they are) are truly gross human beings.

[D Mitchell]

Personally, I can't stand them as a club. Nickname is Centrelink

The same or worse was said of our Club. North have been entrepreneurial in the past, it initiated Friday night MCG games back in the '70s and more latterly, Good Friday games. Headquarters took Friday nights off them and has already shafted us over Good Friday, North won't retain it if it becomes popular.

[Grantysghost]

Why is it sad for Thomas? Sounds like he is a colossal asshole and his substandard abuse/behaviour has been tolerated/ignored for too long?

Ultimately your actions and behaviours are the only currency that you have, and on face value his are unacceptable and have been for a long time (even before this latest allegation). Either he owns his actions, or he makes excuses for them and the cycle will unfortunately continue.

As per usual, the usual sycophants in the media cesspit continue to be as silent on Thomas and his systematic pattern of abuse as they were vocal on De Goey and his one-off (consensual) act in Bali (the New York incident was completely refuted by police and all charges/allegations were very quickly withdrawn, of course with no apology forthcoming from the media scum who poured petrol on this at the time and with the Bali incident). These media vermin (we all know who they are) are truly gross human beings.

Fair call, I don't know anything about him or his back story other than the abuse allegations. If they're proven then he has kissed his career good bye.

[hujsh]

North strike me as a club that will do just about anything and take pretty much whatever risk to achieve short term success. My understanding is they spent a ton of money bringing in players to win their premierships in the 70s and that left the club pretty much destitute for years and years.

In more recent history they topped up with players not really good enough in desperation of winning a flag in the 2000's/2010s and when that didn't happen they hadn't invested enough in youth but immediately changed track to try and Hawthorn themselves a new list by trading off almost all their senior players. Of course they went more Melbourne/Carlton than Hawthorn.

Now they've gone all in on Clarkson and have tried the same with Thomas because I think there's a desperation for success in their culture but maybe too desperate at the cost of any sustainability. That desperation isn't always a bad thing but I think it needs to be moderated while for North their financial situation means it's exacerbated.

[Sedat]

North strike me as a club that will do just about anything and take pretty much whatever risk to achieve short term success. My understanding is they spent a ton of money bringing in players to win their premierships in the 70s and that left the club pretty much destitute for years and years.

In more recent history they topped up with players not really good enough in desperation of winning a flag in the 2000's/2010s and when that didn't happen they hadn't invested enough in youth but immediately changed track to try and Hawthorn themselves a new list by trading off almost all their senior players. Of course they went more Melbourne/Carlton than Hawthorn.

Now they've gone all in on Clarkson and have tried the same with Thomas because I think there's a desperation for success in their culture but maybe too desperate at the cost of any sustainability. That desperation isn't always a bad thing but I think it needs to be moderated while for North their financial situation means it's exacerbated.

North are an interesting club - when I was a primary school kid (late 70's/early 80's), North had plenty of supporters at school and they were genuinely 2nd tier box office behind Carlton, Richmond and Collingwood. At the time they were bigger than Essendon, who hadn't yet started their Sheedy era. They were bigger than Hawthorn and Geelong as well, and definitely much bigger than us, Melbourne and St Kilda. They never really dropped away, either in club support or ladder position, throughout the first half of the 80's - due to the excitement from the Krakouer brothers coming in, and also being the innovators of Friday night footy - they just didn't quite reach the summit. Then in the late 80's/90s they had the assembly line of young talent from U-19's which helped them get another 2 flags, but for some reason this never translated to membership/crowd support - I reckon Essendon and Sheedy taking over the NW suburbs impoverished North at the time and they never really recovered.

They were never a tin-rattling club like us, Melbourne, St Kilda in the 70's/80's.

[bornadog]

North strike me as a club that will do just about anything and take pretty much whatever risk to achieve short term success. My understanding is they spent a ton of money bringing in players to win their premierships in the 70s and that left the club pretty much destitute for years and years.

In more recent history they topped up with players not really good enough in desperation of winning a flag in the 2000's/2010s and when that didn't happen they hadn't invested enough in youth but immediately changed track to try and Hawthorn themselves a new list by trading off almost all their senior players. Of course they went more Melbourne/Carlton than Hawthorn.

Now they've gone all in on Clarkson and have tried the same with Thomas because I think there's a desperation for success in their culture but maybe too desperate at the cost of any sustainability. That desperation isn't always a bad thing but I think it needs to be moderated while for North their financial situation means it's exacerbated.

In the 70s, the VFL changed the rules so the North can win a premiership. They brought in a 10 year rule, which meant any player with 10 years service can up and leave. North acquired about 4 or 5, 10 year players to bolster their team and they ended up winning their first premiership in 75 and another in 77.

They are the Centrelink club, always with hand out and getting pretty much what they want.