WAFL club Swan Districts decide against recruiting Tarryn Thomas

Tarryn Thomas’ dream of returning to the AFL could be over after Swan Districts deciding against recruiting him for the 2025 season, citing ‘many deep concerns’. See the full reason why.

Swan Districts has decided not to recruit disgraced former AFL player Tarryn Thomas following intense backlash with chief executive Jeff Dennis revealing the process has “uncovered many deep concerns.”

As first revealed by this masthead on Monday, the Black Ducks were Thomas’ last hope of securing a state league lifeline after the Northern Bullants passed on the 69-gamer.

Thomas touched down in Perth on Tuesday morning and trained with the WAFL club that night.

Swan Districts have just sent an email out to players. Per @TimGossage, the club have decided not to recruit him. pic.twitter.com/BAbGDUgrNA

— Eliza Reilly (@ByElizaReilly) February 27, 2025

But after further consideration in the last two days, including meeting with key stakeholders members, players, volunteers, sponsors and staff, together with the WAFC and AFL, the Swans sent an email to members on Thursday afternoon revealing that the club had opted against signing the fallen midfielder.

“Swan Districts Football Club has completed its due diligence review of potential recruit Tarryn Thomas,” the email, seen by this masthead, read.

“The club deeply considered whether Thomas’ reintroduction to football was best served at Swan Districts and whether the club had the resources and capacity to provide what he needed.

“The club has decided it will not recruit Thomas and wish him every success in his future.”

While WA Football was set to have the final say on whether to permit Thomas to play in the WAFL, it’s understood the decision was made purely by Swan Districts.

In a club statement, Dennis revealed that after strict due diligence, the club decided it’s “not ready” to take on a player with Thomas’ history.

Disgraced AFL footballer Tarryn Thomas training with WAFL club Swan Districts at Bassendean oval on February 25. Picture: Philip Gostelow

“We knew the process was going to be polarising, but our club is passionately committed to helping people where we can,” he wrote. “This process has uncovered many deep concerns and personal experiences.

“It’s highlighted domestic violence has affected many people in our Swans family and shown us that we’re just not ready for this.

“We must acknowledge that as a society, we are still a long way from resolving the domestic violence issues occurring. This is not just a problem within our club or even just in football – it’s a pervasive issue that requires ongoing attention, education, and action at all levels of society.

“We must first address our internal challenges before we can effectively support others. We need to keep focusing on educating our own community about domestic violence and creating a safe and caring environment for our people.

Disgraced AFL footballer Tarryn Thomas training with Swan Districts. Picture: Philip Gostelow

“This is a crucial step before we can consider taking on additional responsibilities like assisting Tarryn. We’ll work on creating a strategy to continue this conversation in our Swans family as we navigate through this journey together.

“We genuinely believe Tarryn is heading in the right direction. He has owned his mistakes and we believe he is working towards being an active part of community and once again playing football at the highest level he can.

“It’s important at some stage soon he’s accepted by community which will play an important role in his recovery. It’s logical that this first step should be a football community.

“Tarryn has been nothing but appreciative and professional in his dealings with our club.”

The decision comes ahead of the club’s Annual General Meeting, due to be held at Steel Blue Oval on Thursday night.

The club has been slammed with scrutiny since it was first revealed that Thomas was a player of interest.

Fans have taken to social media to question the club’s commitment to ending domestic violence and threatened to stop supporting the Black Ducks all together.

It’s also understood that several WAFLW players found out about the club’s pursuit of Thomas via the media and were told not to speak to anyone about the situation.

Originally published as WAFL club Swan Districts decide against recruiting Tarryn Thomas