CAITLIN BASSETT: Tarryn Thomas playing for Swan Districts in the WAFL will not sit well with female players

The opportunity to be paid to play sport is something special.

It’s a reward to be chosen as part of an elite team and particularly in one of the biggest sports in the country — like the AFL — getting the opportunity to be on a list is a privilege.

The news that disgraced North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas has been offered a trial with Perth WAFL club Swan Districts has whipped footy fans into a frenzy.

The 24-year-old was sacked by the Kangaroos after repeated breaches of conduct involving women and has been exiled by the AFL for the season.

While he can’t play for any state league club associated with an AFL team, he has been granted permission to play for a standalone VFL, WAFL or SANFL club as he attempts to revive his career.

Swan Districts are well known as redemption club and have taken a chance with troubled former AFL players in the past including Andrew Krakouer and former Richmond Tiger Sydney Stack.

Krakouer got his career back on track and won a Sandover Medal while helping the club win a premiership and was picked up by Collingwood where he finished out his AFL career, having previously spent time behind bars.

Stack was signed by the Swans in February last year and played two pre-season games for their reserves and one with the senior team before moving on.

VFL club Northern Bullants decided to pass on Thomas with the proposal for him to join the club failing to get past the board due to backlash they received on social media and the threat of losing sponsors.

Swans giving Thomas a lifeline seems like an unnecessary risk to take — he isn’t a young up-and-coming Swans player or even WA talent for that matter — the only reason would be to improve their chances at a flag.

This is a player who has been accused of serious and confronting threats of violence towards women, arrested and charged for phone harassment and breaching a court order and threatening to distribute intimate images.

As a female player at a WAFL club I would not be comfortable sharing facilities with a serial offender and would love to know what the WAFLW and the younger women who play in the Rogers Cup at Swan Districts think about the situation.

Will the club consult the players, club and members before making a final decision?

According to the AFL, Thomas has completed a comprehensive education and behavioural change program and demonstrated a changed behaviour over a period of time.

But he has made no public statements indicating he is remorseful.

Before Thomas can play a game, WA Football has to sign off on his registration and with four female commissioners on the board I don’t think it will pass the pub test.

Thomas would make Swan Districts a better football side for whatever period he is here. But they are running a great risk of alienating sponsors, members and players. That’s a risk I wouldn’t be taking.