Former North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas linked to powerhouse Victorian AFL club

Sacked North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas has been linked to a football return at another Victorian club.

Thomas is serving an 18-game league-imposed ban for a string of indiscretions, including multiple acts of towards women.

Geelong general manager of football Andrew Mackie responded to questions around the future of the outcast former North Melbourne midfielder and compared him to now-Cats small forward Tyson Stengle.

Mackie said the club was opening to bringing players in despite “bumpy” backgrounds.

“As far as looking at the available talent (goes), at times, if you want to be in the market for players that are really talented and have that skillset, often if they become available to you it means that something has been a little bumpy for them along the way,” he told SEN after direct questioning.

“The Stengle story is much known. We (assess on an) individual case-by-case basis, we do a lot of work on a lot of players, and we look at the positives and what their footy skillset can be to us and then we work backwards from there.”

Stengle played at Richmond and Adelaide, but was involved in a number of off-field indiscretions. He was sacked by the Crows after pleading guilty to drink driving.

He became an All-Australian forward and a premiership player at Geelong.

In a letter to members after the club axed Thomas, North Melbourne president Sonja Hood said the midfielder’s behaviour had become a major concern.

“This wasn’t a decision based on emotion — it was driven by incontrovertible, uncontested facts — but I want to be clear it wasn’t, and isn’t, easy,” she wrote at the time.

“Tarryn’s behaviour has been a concern for some time. Our duty of care to Tarryn and to the wider community meant we chose to work with him to address his behaviours, particularly in regard to his treatment of women.

“We are all bitterly disappointed that he has relapsed. And he is now out of chances.”