Carlton drops Dale Thomas after boozy charity function
More details have come to light over Dale Thomas’ boozy night out at a charity function just two days before Carlton’s loss to St Kilda and the facts are the reason why the Blues leadership group was determined to suspend him.
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Dale Thomas drank up to six glasses of wine just two days before his mediocre Round 10 performance against St Kilda, contradicting his claim he only had a couple of drinks.
The Blues hierarchy knew how much Thomas had downed before announcing he would be dropped for Sunday’s clash with Essendon.
The Blues defender, out of contract and fighting for another AFL contract, had inititially suggested he only had a couple of wines at a charity function on Friday night.
It later emerged he had consumed five or six glasses of wine.
The club’s statement mentioned only that he had “consumed alcohol”.
Reality TV star Georgia Love tweeted yesterday: “I was there and saw him. There’s no way he’d only had 3 drinks.”
Carlton’s leadership group — Patrick Cripps, Sam Docherty, Ed Curnow, Kade Simpson and Marc Murphy — were adamant that Thomas be demoted to the VFL.
The Blues had tasked their integrity officer with uncovering the facts of the evening given a number of different versions.
The leadership group made clear that a player drinking more than a bottle of wine only 36 hours before a crucial game of football breached club protocols.
Reality TV star Georgia Love tweeted on Wednesday: “I was there and saw him. There’s no way he’d only had 3 drinks.”
I was there and saw him. There’s no way he’d only had 3 drinks.
— Georgia Love (@GeorgieALove) May 29, 2019
Thomas had the least disposals of his 10 games this season in the loss to St Kilda, with coach Brendon Bolton fighting to keep hold of his job at the Blues.
Only days before the charity function the club’s senior leaders had held a player-only meeting stressing the need to leave no stone unturned to start winning games.
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Cripps spoke specifically about players being disciplined in their approach to their football.
“As leaders we felt it was the right time to get the whole group in and have some home truths,” he said.
“We basically just opened the floor to everyone on the list to give feedback on each other and no one held back and it was a really good meeting I think.
“I’d definitely say there was a lot of feedback given to players on what they’re doing well and what they need to work on. That’s not just footy, that’s how they approach their footy, how disciplined they are, all of those things.
“It’s just one of those moments you can’t let little things slip and we wanted to hit the nail on the head today.”
Thomas, 31, denied any altercation with former Blues ruckman Robbie Warnock, who is understood to be stunned at being linked to the Thomas story.
Warnock is said to have arrived more than two hours late to the function and was seated on the opposite side of the room to Thomas.
The Blues don’t consider the matter a hanging offence, but they were concerned by the look of drinking so close to a game for a team on the bottom of the ladder.
The club also wanted to send a strong message to its younger players given the side is languishing at 1-9.
The club issued a statement on behalf of Thomas, saying he had accepted the punishment.
“My decision to have a drink on Friday night was a poor one, especially given the week after fronting the tribunal,” Thomas said in the statement.
“I let my guard down at the event and this is not an excuse in any way, clearly I need to be better.
“I want to make it clear that this is not a reflection of my character and in hindsight I understand the impact the choice I made can have on our group.
“My role as an experienced player at our football club is one that I value enormously and I look forward to hopefully earning my way back into the senior side.”
Carlton football manager Brad Lloyd said Thomas had fronted the leadership group, who had settled on the demotion.
“Forty-eight hours form a game, drinking alcohol as a professional footballer, it’s not what we’re after as a football club,” Lloyd said.
“Dale has taken responsibility for it, he puts his hand up, realises it’s not the standard he wants to hold and he’s accepted the leadership group’s decision and we’ll move forward.
“He’s supported fully by the club, he’ll go back and work hard and gain the trust back from the playing group.”
Director of football Chris Judd on Monday night said the Blues were disappointed by Thomas’ actions so close to an important game.
“I’m not one to ‘infantise’ players. If players have a single beer or a couple of wines over dinner, I don’t have a huge problem,” Judd told Channel Nine.
“Needless to say, drinking, full-stop, in public, two days before a game when you’re 1-9, fails the stupidity test, clearly.
“So we’ll wait and see what the result of the investigations are — I actually don’t have the detail, I’m not spinning that.
“Watch this space.”
Carlton’s defeat to St Kilda heaped more pressure on under-fire coach Brendon Bolton.
The Blues face Essendon at the MCG on Sunday.
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