Australian Football Hall of Famer Neil Kerley remembers the late Doug Thomas, who passed away on Monday
Australian Football Hall of Famer Neil Kerley has described Doug Thomas as “one of football’s great people’’ after the West Adelaide giant passed away after a long illness on Monday, aged 87.
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Australian Football Hall of Famer Neil Kerley has described Doug Thomas as “one of football’s great people’’ after the West Adelaide giant passed away after a long illness on Monday, aged 87.
Kerley said Thomas, who was involved with the Bloods for more than 50 years, was chiefly responsible for keeping the club afloat in tough times and was the architect behind its 1983 premiership triumph, when Kerley was coach.
“He was a fantastic teammate and administrator and one of those great blokes who put his heart and soul into West Adelaide,’’ said Kerley, who coached the Bloods, South Adelaide and Glenelg to SANFL premierships.
“West was more or less his second home and he worked very hard to keep the club alive.
“Doug was incredibly loyal to West and was virtually responsible for our 1983 premiership because of the players he picked up from Victoria – Mark Dreher, Mike Smith, Ian Borchard, Richard Hamilton, Bernie Conlen, Craig Williams and Larry Watson.
“We were very, very good friends and while he hadn’t been well for some time his passing is very sad.’’
Kerley says West’s 1983 flag side was the greatest he has coached.
A South Australian Football Hall of Famer, Thomas is a West Hall of Fame Legend.
He was officially involved with the club from 1951 to 2006 as player, coach, administrator and recruiter.
A premiership player alongside Kerley in 1961, Thomas played 215 games and kicked 110 goals for the Bloods from 1951-1957 and 1961-65, spending the interim time as captain-coach of Wimmera Football League side Dimboola, which he steered to premiership success in 1959.
He started as a dour, close-checking full back before moving forward later in his career.
Thomas captain-coached West in 1963-64 and represented SA five times.
After his retirement as a player he embarked on a long administrative career, including being general manager from 1977 to 2006.
“Doug’s impact on the West Adelaide Football Club cannot be overstated,’’ said Bloods chief executive Ben Hopkins.
“He has left an incredible mark on the club as a player, coach and administrator and his impact is felt to this day with many club contacts still mentioning their ‘deals with Doug’.
“The club is no doubt in a much better place because of the contribution Doug made over many years.
“He has left a significant fingerprint and legacy on this place.’’
Thomas was a staunch supporter of SA football and vehemently argued against Port Adelaide fielding teams in both the AFL and SANFL, emphasised by his infamous Cold War line: “If it came down to voting for the communists or Port Adelaide, I’d take the communists every time.’’
Thomas is survived by his partner Raelene.