Collingwood’s Josh Thomas reveals the secret meeting with Eddie McGuire that got his career back on track

FROM serving a drug ban and driving Ubers to playing in a Grand Final. It’s been a heck of a journey for Pies midfielder Josh Thomas. Now, he’s opened up about the whack from Eddie McGuire that helped turn things around.

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BANNED Collingwood midfielder Josh Thomas says the forgiveness of Pies president Eddie McGuire at a watershed meeting at his Toorak mansion set in train his amazing comeback.

Thomas admitted that early in his two-year drug ban while driving Ubers and working in a Brisbane gym he could never imagine being back at the Pies, let along playing in a Grand Final.

He told the Herald Sun he credits a meeting with McGuire as the start of his journey back to the AFL, months after taking pills laced with clenbuterol at the St Kilda Festival in 2015.

He and teammate Lachie Keeffe were banned for two seasons but told by the Pies they would stick with them, retaining them on the rookie list as a pathway to an eventual return.

Josh Thomas has opened up about the road to redemption after a drug ban

“Probably it was a good two or three months in limbo. I didn’t even know the (ASADA) process so I didn’t know if it would be a slap on the wrist or two years,” Thomas said.

“I think the turning point was when we met Eddie, which I was very nervous about.

“We went over to his house with my manager and Lachie and we just had an open discussion about what happened and I think right from the get-go he gave us a bit of a whack.

“But as he said people make mistakes and it’s in his nature to look after Collingwood people.

“I didn’t get much sleep the night before, I walked in pretty sheepish but the whole thing was we were up front from day one and there was nothing more to go over.

“Pretty much from that chat we got the sense Collingwood would stick by us.

“And I guess he is the president and has a lot of pull, so for him to be in our corner, that was the turning point for us.

“Once me and Lachie had that, it was huge to have that certainty and we had a goal. It was a long, long way away but we had a goal and something tangible to work towards.”

Collingwood's Josh Thomas during todays media session . Pic: Michael Klein

Thomas has sourced the eight tickets from Collingwood and two available from the AFLPA to have his family and friends on hand on Saturday, with his parents, girlfriend, brother, grandma and mates all there watching.

He says at times along his journey it was inconceivable to think he would ever reach the Grand Final stage.

“Even at the start of the year from where we finished last year and I was still establishing myself in the 22, it’s just built all the way through the year.

“Probably back in 2015, I was back in Brisbane and working in a gym and I guess at that point it was sorted I was going to come back to Collingwood but you never really know. And it just seemed a million miles away, and I just felt like I had so much hard work ahead of my, which I did.”

Thomas kicked a remarkably accurate 38.11 this year and agreed to a new three-year deal after entering the season on a low-paid single-season extension.

He will again form part of the dangerous brigade of medium-sized forwards who have played such an integral part in the Pies’ charge, adamant they will again back in their strengths.

“We played West Coast twice this year and we know how they play and they know how we play,” he said.

“We won’t change too much. We have done that this year, mainly focus on us and how we play.

“There will be a few key points where we will have to clamp down on the way they go about it but mainly it will be about us and we will bring what we are good at and hope to do it for longer.”