Dale Thomas says ‘whole AFL world hated me’ for leaving Collingwood
Footy champion Dale Thomas was a favourite son at Collingwood, but his shock defection to rival Carlton had a far bigger impact on his life than he expected. And the shockwaves had him at a complete loss for what to do.
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Dale Thomas says he felt like “the whole AFL world hated me” when he left Collingwood to play for Carlton.
Thomas, who has emerged from I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here to join the Triple M Footy commentary team, played for the Magpies from 2006 to 2013, including a premiership in 2010, before transferring to Carlton in 2014.
Thomas was candid about his anxiety and mental health struggled while on the Channel 10 reality show.
On Triple M Hot Breakfast today, co-host Eddie McGuire asked Thomas if any of his stresses related to leaving Collingwood for Carlton.
“You were a favourite son at Collingwood, then you go to the arch-enemy … and became a poster boy with (former Blues coach) Mick Malthouse and all their troubles over there,” McGuire said.
“You go from this fun-loving surfing footballer with blonde bleached hair, the country boy from Drouin, taking screamers, kicking goals, winning premierships … was that part of it?”
Thomas, who battled injury while at Carlton, replied: “It was certainly a big part of it. I was universally loved by Collingwood supporters, footy was great, life was great, everything was on the up.
“Footy was still the one escape I had to get away from anything that was going on at home with the family.”
McGuire added: “There were family issues.”
Thomas responded: “I had a pretty rough upbringing in the sense the old man wasn’t really a part of it. Thankfully, I’ve got the world’s greatest mum who did triple and half the time to make it all worthwhile.
“Coming across and taking on the weight of the world and every problem that came with that, I expected to go to Carlton, still be a really good player to win over the Carlton fans, (and) have the Collingwood fans go: ‘Thanks for your service, but on you get.’
“In the end, it felt like the whole AFL world hated me.
“I could still differentiate (between) being a footballer and a person. But I reckon at times that got very clouded … from how I perceived myself, and what people were saying about me.
“To be honest, I had no idea how to deal with it in the end.”
Thomas credited family, friends and footy leaders including McGuire and Malthouse to supporting him through the tough times. He retired from football last year.
“I hope you now feel that the football world has embraced you,” McGuire told Thomas. “You’ve done your time on the ground, you’ve done your tour of duty.
“The war is over. You won. You’re a Collingwood premiership player and a favourite son of the Carlton Football Club as well.”
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Meanwhile, Thomas has officially joined the Triple M commentary team for the 2020 AFL season.
He said: “I’ve grown up listening Triple M, so to have this opportunity to join the team has me pumped.”
Triple M’s head of sport, Ewan Giles, said: “Daisy has been a friend of Triple M Footy for a long time, so it was an easy decision to get him on board for 2020. If he can survive in the jungle, then the commentary box should be a walk in the park.”