WAFL 2025: Sacked North Melbourne star Tarryn Thomas offered two-week trial at Swan Districts

Disgraced North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas has been offered a two-week trial by Swan Districts despite his troubled and controversial past. The West Australian can reveal Thomas will fly in Perth on Tuesday and will train with the club that night as he looks to revive his career. He will spend at least a fortnight at the club where his fitness will be test as part of Swans doing their due diligence. Thomas has been exiled from the AFL this year, but was granted permission to return to football with a non-AFL affiliated club earlier after being suspended over a series of offences towards women. Swan Districts have taken punts on several troubled players in the past including Sandover medallist Andrew Krakouer and one-time Richmond player Sydney Stack. It can be revealed Thomas had to be granted permission to be allowed to play in the WAFL with one of his conditions set by the AFL for a return to the league meaning he had to be based in Victoria. Thomas was sacked by the Kangaroos last February after a strong of conduct breaches involving women, but he avoided criminal conviction in November after police dropped a charge of him using a telecommunications service to harass a woman. He had also escaped conviction in July 2023 for threatening to distribute intimae videos of his former partner. Thomas was granted a diversion and ordered to pay $1000 to charity after his initial charge of threatening to distribute an intimate image of another person was downgraded by prosecutors to using a carriage service to harass someone. It has been reported that Thomas has completed a full education program and displayed a changed behaviour over a period, fulfilling the criteria to return to football. Several WAFL clubs ruled out Thomas as an option in 2025, but Swan Districts are desperate for depth after Rokahr walked out on the club to return to South Australia with a year to run on his contract and Edwards was recruited by Essendon during the pre-season supplemental selection period last week. Thomas played 69 games for North Melbourne after being drafted with pick No.8 in 2018 but his career was marred by off-field controversies. The AFL banned Thomas for 18 matches in February last year after an investigation found him guilty of inappropriate behaviour towards a woman. Thomas had been stood down twice by the Kangaroos in 2023 over similar incidents and he has not played at the top level since round 24 of 2023. The midfielder also had interest from VFL side the Northern Bullants but decided against recruiting him at a board meeting on Sunday night. Thomas is ineligible for this year’s mid-season draft and there is no decision on whether he will be eligible to play in the AFL in 2026.