Troubled footy star Tarryn Thomas cops a HUGE suspension for inappropriate behaviour with a woman – leaving his career hanging by a thread

The AFL is suspending North Melbourne’s Tarryn Thomas for a staggering 18 weeks after he was found to have behaved inappropriately with a woman – almost certainly spelling the end of his time with the Kangaroos.

Thomas’s ban will run until July 22 and he will not be allowed to play footy at any level until then.

If North choose to keep him on their books, he will only be allowed to play in the club’s last five games of the season. 

However, the Kangaroos are at very long odds to retain him in light of the string off off-field troubles he’s been in and the extremely poor return they’ve had from his contract, which is estimated to be worth from $600,000 to $700,000 a year.

The 23-year-old (pictured outside a Melbourne court last year) will be unable to play any form of footy during his monster suspension

Thomas has been under investigation since January, when fresh allegations of inappropriate behaviour 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 stood down by the club twice last year, first in February and then March, amid concerns over his behaviour towards women.

He was put through a respect and responsibility education program and spent three weeks in the VFL before later earning a senior recall, ultimately playing 12 AFL games last year.

In July 2023, Thomas walked free from 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 granted a diversion, which meant he escaped a criminal conviction, and was ordered to pay $1000 to charity.

He has been prevented from training with the club during the current investigation. 

The ban is the latest in a long list of off-field disasters for the Kangaroos star, who dodged a criminal conviction for threatening to distribute intimate videos of his former partner

Thomas (pictured fending off a tackler against Richmond last year) was shunted down to the VFL as a punishment during the 2023 season 

Earlier this week, AFL football boss Laura Kane refused to confirm whether North will get salary cap relief due to Thomas’s suspension, which had not been confirmed at the time.

Last April, North fined Thomas $5000 for a video he posted to 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 was also required to donate a further $5000 to a road safety charity.

The midfielder, drafted at pick No.8 in the 2018 national draft, has played 69 games and kicked 56 goals in a career interrupted by injuries and off-field issues since his 2019 debut.

After kicking 11 goals in 12 games last season, Thomas had been making a comeback from groin surgery late last year.