Tarryn Thomas’ football return in jeopardy as the threat of Cyclone Fina looms large
Ex-North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas is scheduled to make his Top End debut this weekend, however the latest Cyclone Fina forecast has cast a major cloud over the fixture. Read the latest.
Sacked North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas will play for Southern Districts this weekend so long as incoming Cyclone Fina doesn’t cause the NTFL round to be abandoned.
Thomas registered with the NTFL reigning premiers last week and will make his club debut against Palmerston at Cazalys Arena on Friday.
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Tropical Cyclone Fina turned into a Category 2 sooner than expected on Wednesday and is now headed south toward the Top End.
The Bureau of Meteorology has stated there remains a possibility the system intensifies into a Category 3 before making landfall late on Friday or early on Saturday.
The AFLNT cancelled the round on Friday declaring each match a washout due to the anticipated impact of Fina.
“The evolving nature of Tropical Cyclone Fina means we cannot take any risks,” head of AFLNT Sam Gibson said.
“Following the latest advice from the Bureau of Meteorology and in line with our Extreme Weather Policy, we’ve made the decision to cancel matches to protect players, officials, and the wider football community as the cyclone moves through the Top End.”
The ex-Kangaroo was sacked by the AFL club following a series of off-field incidents including threatening a woman via direct messages.
The AFL previously stated Thomas could play at state league level, and more recently AFL clubs were told they could select the 25-year-old as a free agent at this year’s draft.
However, owing to links at Districts it’s understood Thomas approached the club to resume his football career.
Originally the AFLNT said that under the current rules and regulations all games will continue as scheduled if a Cyclone Watch is issued.
However, if that is upgraded to a cyclone warning then all matches during that risk period will be abandoned, even if they have already started.
The last NTFL match to be abandoned due to a storm was the 2017-18 grand final that was forced to be played a day later due to Cyclone Marcus.
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Originally published as Tarryn Thomas’ football return in jeopardy as the threat of Cyclone Fina looms large
