Former AFL star Tarryn Thomas has allegedly been held hostage at gunpoint for several hours over a car deal that went wrong.
The ex-North Melbourne star, aged 25, was reportedly with friends at a pub in Ballarat on Saturday night when the incident took place.
It’s understood that Thomas told police two men held him and his friend at gunpoint, demanding that they sign over the papers to their car and hand over thousands in cash, Nine News reported.
The pair were allegedly held hostage for several hours before making a deal with the men, who dropped them off at a property.
It’s understood Thomas went to police at the time but has since retracted his statement.
Nine News’ Isabel Quinlan added that the outlet had contacted Thomas’ lawyer who has not responded to a request for comment.
Former AFL star Tarryn Thomas was allegedly held hostage at gunpoint on Saturday night
Thomas was sacked when the AFL imposed an 18-match suspension for multiple misconduct breaches in February 2024
Ahead of the 2025 football season, Thomas was hopeful of making a return to football and had been close to signing a deal to join the Northern Bullants but was rejected by the club
The footy star has since deleted his Instagram account.
‘It is understood that the car has been found and returned,’ the Channel Nine reporter added.
The incident comes a year after Thomas was sacked by the Kangaroos after the AFL imposed an 18-match suspension for multiple misconduct breaches, including threatening a woman via direct messages.
He was subsequently forced to sit out the entire 2024 season.
In November last year, he avoided a criminal conviction after police had dropped a charge against him of using telecommunications services to harass a woman.
The 25-year-old faced Broadmeadows magistrates court where he had pleaded guilty to breaching a court order which involved repeated calls to a victim.
Ahead of the 2025 football season, Thomas was hopeful of making a return to football and had been close to signing a deal to join the Northern Bullants.
The team had expressed an interest in signing him but following large backlash, the VFL club’s board decided against adding the 25-year-old to their list.
Ahead of the 2025 football season, Thomas was hopeful of making a return to football and had been close to signing a deal to join the Northern Bullants
He remains without a footy club after the Bullants opted not to offer him a deal while Perth-based side, Swan Districts, also chose not to sign him
In February, Western Australian Football club, Swan Districts, had also opted against signing Thomas.
It came after he had arrived in Perth to begin a two-week trial and meet with the club’s powerbrokers.
Following several meetings with club bosses, the Swans announced that they would not be moving forward in their attempts to sign the former North Melbourne player, who made 69 appearances for the Roos between 2019 and 2023.
Multiple Swan Districts women’s players had learned of the club’s interest in signing Thomas via several media reports and had been advised not to discuss the situation but had expressed their disappointment.
According to News Corp, some players had stated they would consider leaving the club, should the Swans sign Thomas.
Jeff Dennis, Swan Districts’ CEO, said that the decision was made independently of the WA Football Commission and the AFL.
Meanwhile, some fans of the footy club had expressed concerns over why the club had considered recruiting Thomas.
One supporter wrote on social media: ‘I genuinely can’t believe the AFL hasn’t banned him for life, taking the decision-making away from every club that thinks they can rehabilitate him.’
Thomas made his debut during North’s Round Two defeat by the Brisbane Lions at the Marvel Stadium back in 2019 and also received a Rising Star nomination during a game against the Gold Coast later that year.
The Sydney-born midfielder was signed to the club as pick No 8 in 2019 national draft.
He’d go on to score 56 goals during his time at the Kangaroos.
