Dale Thomas opens up about his AFL retirement which took him by surprise
Retired AFL star Dale Thomas is a long way from home on a celebrity TV show. As he recalled his departure from the game the former Pie and Blue revealed life as a footballer wasn’t always as glamorous as it might have seemed.
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Dale Thomas says he was surprised that he had to retire last season.
The former Blue opened up about his footy exit on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!
In a conversation with camp mate Erin Barnett he said:
“AFL footy is unbelievable. I’m so fortunate to play and so grateful for the opportunities that I got, but as a 32-year-old bloke to sort of be told when you can and can’t do things does become a little bit tedious.
“I retired in the sense that I told the club I was retiring after they told me there wasn’t a spot for me on the list next year so, I was always really realistic that at some point it would come to an end. And, whether or not I thought it would be this year due to the footy I was playing, probably took me a little bit by surprise.
“But for some weird reason, when you’re in the AFL and you get to 30 years old, it’s only a matter of time before you get wound up.”
Barnett asked Thomas about drug testing which he said was part of the game, and also told of tough times when he hated the game.
“ … it’s hard to sit here and say ‘ohh, you get tested’ because you get paid really well and it’s a good job, but there’s so much pressure and expectation that comes with it,’’ he said.
“After 14 years, I had times where this is all I ever wanted to do, and I genuinely hate this. And you’re like ‘what is wrong with me for feeling like that?’”
Thomas, once rated the best player in the game by former Freo coach Ross Lyon, played 258 AFL matches after being selected with pick 2 in the 2005 national draft.
He played 157 games for Collingwood - including the 2010 premiership - before joining former coach Mick Malthouse at Carlton as a free agent.
Originally published as Dale Thomas opens up about his AFL retirement which took him by surprise