North Melbourne responds to startling allegations against Tarryn Thomas

The North Melbourne president has responded to serious allegations against a young AFL star.

Tarryn Thomas has been accused of harassment and threatening and intimidating behaviour. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

North Melbourne has confirmed young star Tarryn Thomas is undertaking education and behaviour counselling while he awaits a court hearing in the wake of “serious and confronting” allegations made public on Wednesday.

Melbourne’s Herald Sun revealed several women had spoken to the AFL with allegations of harassment and threatening and intimidating behaviour by Thomas.

The 22-year-old has faced no disciplinary action from the league or his club over his alleged conduct or since he was charged with threatening to distribute an intimate image following a three-month police investigation.

In response to the reports, North Melbourne president Sonja Hood released a statement confirming the allegations were being taken seriously and Thomas was undertaking a “multi-layered program” to deal with “behavioural issues”.

“We take any allegation of threats of violence against women extremely seriously. Respect of all people is fundamental to our club values,” the statement said.

“The club was aware of formal allegations made against Tarryn during 2022 that were investigated by the AFL’s Integrity Unit. Tarryn and the club co-operated fully with those investigations.

“The advice provided by the AFL following these incidents was that Tarryn should undertake training and education to deal with his behavioural issues.

In light of the serious and confronting allegations against Tarryn Thomas, club president Dr Sonja Hood has written to members and supporters.

— North Melbourne FC (@NMFCOfficial) February 1, 2023

“The club has since built a significant and multi-layered program which includes respectful relationships education, working with psychologists, mentoring, peer support and community outreach for Tarryn to complete so he can meet North Melbourne’s values and community expectations. He has started work on this program and we’ll continue to support Tarryn as he completes this work.

“Should any further investigation arise from new information passed on to the AFL or the police, the club and Tarryn will co-operate fully, as we did in the wake of those initial allegations.

“It’s also important to acknowledge that Tarryn is still to face a matter before the courts and as such we won’t be making any comment about that particular case.

“Subject to any further investigations, the club will await the outcome of the court proceedings before confirming our next course of action.”

Dr Hood declared the issue was “challenging and confronting” but committed to supporting Thomas.

“The club acknowledges the impact people will be feeling across the community by reading the media today,” she said.

“We are committed to supporting our people through this time and I want to reiterate that our whole club understands the significance of this matter.”

Serious allegations have been made against Tarryn Thomas. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

An AFL statement confirmed the allegations had been made and the league had been working with Victoria Police regarding the matter.

“The AFL has offered and will continue to provide wellbeing support to any person who has come forward with an allegation,” the league statement said.

“The AFL has investigated all formal complaints where appropriate and where there have been allegations of criminal behaviour have facilitated contact with Victoria Police who are the most appropriate body to investigate allegations of that nature.

“Tarryn Thomas is currently the subject of criminal charges over a reported incident and while that matter is yet to be finalised in court, the AFL will continue to work with NMFC and Victoria Police and will monitor the outcome of the police action.”

Thomas trained with his teammates on Wednesday morning and is not subject to any stand-down policy.