‘One of the most wasted talents ever’: Matthew Lloyd on Tarryn Thomas

Matthew Lloyd has spoken about his fears over the future of troubled North Melbourne star Tarryn Thomas as a huge ban looms.

’One of the most wasted talents ever’: Matthew Lloyd on Tarryn Thomas. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd fears Tarryn Thomas will be “one of the most wasted talents we’ve ever seen” as a monster suspension looms.

Thomas was reportedly hit with an 18-week suspension by the AFL on Monday, before the league moved to deny such reports.

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Channel 9’s chief football reporter Tom Morris reported the league had hit the star with an 18-week suspension following it’s investigation.

Morris’ report claims the AFL Commission had “ratified the penalty, which will be served in its entirety”.

Those reports were contradicted by the Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph who noted that the AFL “had not come to a resolution on the Thomas matter yet”.

However, the Herald Sun report does concede “it would not surprise if a figure as high as 18 weeks had been discussed among all parties”.

As North Melbourne brace for the AFL’s official decision to be handed out, Thomas continues to train separately from the team.

Thomas continues to train away from the group. Picture: David Crosling

As confusion over the potential suspension looms, Lloyd fears the talented number two pick will be lost to the game stemming from his off-field concerns.

“I put him in the Harley Bennell bracket,” Lloyd said on 3AW

“He’ll (Thomas) be lost to football. He’ll be one of the most wasted talents that we’ve ever seen in the game.”

Lloyd revealed that he had spent a day at Arden Street as part of an off-the-record media session with Kangaroos officials.

“Tarryn Thomas was asked (about) and you could sense the way they were talking that it had been a draining issue for them,” he said.

“It’s been left in the hands of the AFL; they were expecting to hear three weeks ago what was going to be happening.

“I remember John Quinn, our long-time fitness coach at the Bombers, said there was one particular player that he said I spent 90 per cent of my time dealing with his issues and his matters as a head of strength and conditioning coach.

“So for 40 other players, who are doing all the right things, I’m spending 10% of my time on them.

“I raised this with North, it was just a candid chat, and I could see a few nods saying yep, I can understand what you’re saying because that’s been Tarryn Thomas.

“We’re forever being sidetracked by issues when we want to put all our energies into getting ourselves back on our feet as a football club, yet we’re constantly dealing with off-field matters with Tarryn Thomas.”

Lloyd fears Thomas’ talents will be lost. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

The 23-year-old Thomas was suspended last February amid accusations he had made “serious and confronting” threats of violence towards women.

He was also criticised for a deleted video which showed him driving dangerously, with his feet up on the dashboard while straddling two lanes on a drive between Sydney and Melbourne.

In July, a charge was dropped after he agreed to donate $1000 to charity, having been charged with threatening to distribute an intimate image of another person.

“You have obviously taken this matter very seriously,” Magistrate Julie Grainger said, accepting Thomas had taken responsibility for his actions and was working to change.

“You have worked really hard to better yourself.”

A talented midfielder, Thomas has played 69 games for North Melbourne after being picked up as No. 8 in the 2018 national draft.

He is out of contract at the end of the 2024 season.