Dale Thomas has finally found his love for footy again after injury-plagued years at Carlton
DALE Thomas has copped a lot of criticism since crossing from Collingwood to Carlton but is now finally fit, playing good footy and has recaptured the love for the game he always knew was there but eluded him at the height of the constant scrutiny.
Carlton
Don't miss out on the headlines from Carlton. Followed categories will be added to My News.
DALE Thomas has finally found the equilibrium again.
He never forgot how to play. It’s just that his body wouldn’t allow him to do it the way he wanted, nor perform in the manner people expected.
The more he tried, the more frustrated he became. The harder he pushed, the more his body rebelled. The more scrutiny he was under, the less he adored the game.
In a sense, it became a vicious cycle for the normally affable, yet intensely-driven footballer who was once considered one of the most dynamic players in the competition.
BLUE: DAISY OPENS UP ABOUT CONTRACT PRESSURE, NEW FAMILY LIFE
MICK MALTHOUSE: TIME TO GIVE DAISY A BREAK
EX-COACH: MICK MALTHOUSE DEFENDS DECISION TO RECRUIT THOMAS
Now, into his fifth season with Carlton, a realignment of Thomas’ body and mind has seen him play arguably the best bracket of football since his days at Collingwood, albeit in a position — halfback — he hasn’t played that often.
In the process, he has not only revived his love of the game, he has connected even more strongly as a mentor/motivator to the Blues’ young talent as the club seeks to become a competitive force again after so many years in the wilderness.
Yes, the Blues haven’t won a game so far this season, but Thomas insists that will change soon, possibly as early as Saturday afternoon, against old rivals Essendon at the MCG.
“The body has caught up to what I have always known my mind knew about the game.” Thomas said of his career revival. “You get to a point where you have played a lot of footy, and then you have injuries and you get chopped down.
“When you get to 30, and all that stuff in your life builds up, it is just good to be able to start afresh with footy — to have a few years without being injured, touch wood, and to be able to go out there and just play.”
Thomas will play his 226th AFL game on Saturday, with his mind fresh again after the challenges he has overcome, and his body feeling good.
ROBBO: THOMAS HASN’T PRODUCED FOOTY WORTHY OF BIG CONTRACT
So much has changed since he was the blond-haired tyro who burst onto the scene for Collingwood from Ablett-country in Drouin 12 years ago.
He was a premiership player at 23. He exercised his free agency at 26, joining Carlton on a lucrative long-term deal that later drew criticism and intense scrutiny when he had to endure career-interrupting ankle and shoulder injuries.
“I am not here to say ‘poor me’ or anything like that,” he explained. “But (the attention) was pretty unrelenting.
“It is not that you fall out of love with the game; it is the bulls--- that comes with it. “Everything had probably built up to the point where I was almost playing scared. I didn’t want to do what I would normally do because I was scared of making a mistake.
“When that (instinct) is taken away, I just became the next bloke on the list.
“You sort of reassess where everything is at. (The question is) ‘Do you really still like the game or is it the outside stuff that you don’t like? I think that’s where I decided I do love playing footy. It’s what I’m passionate about; it’s what I am good at; and it is what I love doing.”
SELECTION: ALL THE ROUND 8 TEAMS
MATTHEW LLOYD: IT’S CRUNCH TIME FOR ESSENDON AGAINST CARLTON
Fast forward to May 2018, and he is using the lessons learnt along the way to help his younger teammates accelerate their own careers.
“Other than the fact we don’t have a ‘W’ (win) yet, it has been really enjoyable passing on that knowledge to the younger boys,” Thomas said.
“The lessons you learn when your back is against the wall will help these guys at some stage, whether it is winning games now and going on a good run, or whether we start doing that in a year’s time.
“I have seen enough footy to know that at some point soon it is really going to click. When it does, it could be pretty scary for some teams we come up against.
“As long as we keep positive, and keep learning, there’s a chance some of these boys are going to be out and out stars. They have a chance to go on a 10-year journey together.”
Thomas knows that journey will carry on long after he has left the club, but he is deriving plenty of satisfaction out of helping out right now.
On the field, that has come in the form of a move to halfback, where he has been assisting the Blues’ defence make do without All-Australian Sam Docherty, who suffered a season-ending knee injury late last year.
Only once this year has he failed to record 20 or more disposals, and over the past month Champion Data has registered him as elite for a general in terms of ranking points, disposals, contested possessions and uncontested possessions.
Thomas admitted he hasn’t played in defence often, other than when his then-Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse put him at halfback as a young player to teach him to run both ways.
“Before that,” he joked, “as an 18-year-old kid straight out of the TAC (Cup), I thought defence was the thing that separated the cars from the ground.
“I suppose the strength of my game has always been I have been able to play anywhere, and that’s probably meant I have had a long journey in the game. To be able to get sort of a new challenge at my age has been good.
“I’ve been tapping into Simmo (Kade Simpson) and Sam Docherty about how they think I should play the role, and I’ve just been trying to build with each game.”
Off the field, Thomas’ role has been just as important.
Part of that has been working with the likes of impressive young Blue Zac Fisher, whose football IQ isn’t dissimilar to what Thomas’ was as a young player, and Jack Silvagni, who Thomas has instructed to stay off social media.
Thomas, himself, no longer actively uses Twitter or Facebook, but still posts to Instagram, such was the intense focus during his difficult first few years at Carlton.
“I am really open with these boys,” he said. “I was so fortunate to walk into a club as a kid that had Nathan Buckley, Paul Licuria, James Clement, Tarkyn Lockyer and Shane O’Bree as a core group and we learnt so much from them.
“(At Carlton), we have been lucky enough to have Simmo, Murph (Marc Murphy), Gibbsy until this year, and Kreuze drive the standards.
“I’m trying to help as much as I can. I get the enjoyment of seeing young guys get better because that makes us get better as well. That is part of the evolution of a player — the more games you play, the more roles and responsibilities you have in passing on those lessons.”
Insiders say he is great for morale during a time when losses can deflate young groups.
An example came when, after the loss to North Melbourne, he posted a impersonation of Bruce McAvaney when he was watching Winx triumph to bring a smile to teammates’ faces.
“The boys were sitting around the airport as flat as a s — t carter’s hat,” Thomas said. “No one was smiling and everyone was feeling a bit sorry for themselves. So I brought out ‘delicious’ and ‘special’ and just tried to brighten the mood a bit.
“There is an understanding that there are times when you have to rip in and work your arse off, and there are times — even when things aren’t going well — where it is OK to have a laugh, and to have a smile on your face.”
That smile will be a lot brighter for Thomas, and his teammates, if they can score a win over the Bombers on Saturday.
IN DEFENCE OF DAISY
Dale Thomas’ past month in terms of ratings/rankings for general defenders.
Time in defence: 87%
Ranking points: 98 Elite 5th
Disposals: 25.3 Elite 7th
Contested possessions: 6.8 Elite 9th
Uncontested possessions: 18.5 Elite 5th
Metres gained: 364 Above Average 23rd
Source: CHAMPION DATA
LIVE stream every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week trial & start watching in minutes. SIGN UP NOW >
Houston shock: I wanted to be a Blue
Dan Houston has revealed he wanted to join Carlton and reunite with Michael Voss before being traded to arch rival Collingwood. This is how his Blues dream fell apart.
Kennel call: Why Kennedy ditched Blues in last-gasp trade
The phone wasn’t ringing off the hook for Matt Kennedy — until suddenly he had Luke Beveridge on the line. He details his whirlwind trade period and how he ended up as a Bulldog.