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Collingwood’s Dale Thomas says the AFL’s latest betting scandal is another warning for players to be more careful about what they say to family members.
But while some argue more needs to be done to educate players on what they can reveal to friends and family regarding team information, Magpies star Thomas says they have run out of excuses.
Gold Coast defender Nathan Bock was banned for two games and fined $10,000 on Wednesday, with the AFL warning the penalties will get more serious if there are further infringements.
Bock told a family member and a friend ahead of the round-24 game against Hawthorn in September that the Suns would play him forward.
Another family member was also told and the information prompted a successful betting plunge on Bock kicking the game’s first goal.
He was backed from $101 to $21 and an undisclosed number of bets won about $40,000.
Bock knew on the morning of the game about the bets and he told the Suns soon after the final siren.
“Players don’t have an excuse,” Thomas said on Thursday after getting his head shaved as a charity fundraiser for the N.I.C.K. and Make-A-Wish Foundations.
“It has even got to the point of passing on information now. So I think players will certainly be a lot more careful as to who they tell including family members and friends.
“Gone are the days when as a young fellow you got excited and said `I’ll be starting here’.
“You’ve just got to be too careful these days that if it does fall in the wrong hands, you can find yourselves on the sidelines for a fair while.”
Bock revealed the inside information only a few weeks after Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell was fined $5000 for a similar offence.
The AFL had also suspended Maxwell’s team-mate Heath Shaw for eight games and fined him $20,000 for betting offences.
Thomas, whose blond locks have helped make him a favourite with the Magpie Army, said the last time his hair was so short was probably at birth.
“Hopefully I won’t get reported as much,” he joked of his new No.3 haircut.
Thomas said the club’s annual high-altitude training camp in Arizona was as tough as ever.
“It was still a lot of hard work but probably more of a footy vibe,” said Thomas, 24.
“There’s a new coach (Nathan Buckley) and a new feeling down at the club and I think everyone is really excited to get back into this last week of training before Christmas.”
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