THOMAS, Paul

Paul Thomas came to Essendon in a second attempt to forge an AFL career. He had been drafted by Adelaide in 2002 as a rookie, but played no senior games and returned to his original club, Central Districts. He won the Magarey Medal and Central District's best and fairest award in 2004.

Essendon drafted him in 2005 as a strong midfielder and half-back flanker.

He played his first senior match in Round 4 against Geelong but struggled to win a permanent place in the Essendon side. He kicked his only goal in Round 21 when Essendon enjoyed a 99 point win over Carlton.

He was delisted by Essendon at the end of 2005 and returned to Central Districts in 2006. He was appointed captain in 2007 and led the team to premierships in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. He won his second best and fairest award in 2009 and captained South Australia in a win over Western Australia in 2012. He was appointed Central District's coach in 2021.