Port Adelaide premiership player Toby Thurstans has announced his retirement from AFL at the age of 29.
Thurstans said that his decision to retire from the game had been on the cards for a while despite hitting some good form at stages throughout this year. He believes that he does not have enough left in him to get through another season. He stated that “the mental and physical rigours of an AFL season demand so much, and I am not the sort of person who is going to go on unless I think I can contribute 100 per cent”.
Thurstans thanked the Port Adelaide Football Club for their ongoing support and faith they had showed in him, especially to Coach Mark Williams for his persistence (especially in the early stages of his career). He also acknowledged the support and encouragement that his wife and his parents had showed him throughout his career.
Mark Williams commended Toby had stated that he “has a great football brain, was a wonderful team man with great compassion for others”. He also said that Thurstans career is admirable and shows how persistence can pay off, especially because he will be ending his career having won a Premiership and having waiting 4 years since being drafted to debut.
Toby Thurstans was recruited by Port Adelaide in the 1998 National AFL Draft, in a Third Round selection and pick number 39 overall. After being drafted he had to wait 4 years in order to debut for the Power and did so in Round 1, 2003 against the West Coast Eagles.
In his second year of AFL he played in all of Port’s 25 games, kicked 28 goals and played in the 40 point Grand Final win against Brisbane Lions. In the Grand Final he kicked 3 goals and was one of three players to kick three or more goals. Mark Williams stated that he did not just play in that Grand Final “he played really well”.
In 2005 and 2005, he struggled to find form he had in the previous year and was used a trade bait at the end of 2006, but was lucky enough to stay with the Power. His year changed again in 2007 and 2008; in 2007 he played all 25 games for the Power and started a new role as a defender and got back to his old form, which continued into 2008.
In 2009 he worked hard, because the football seemed to spend a lot of the time in Port’s backline. He missed Round 1, played Round 2, and then missed Round 3-10 due to a knee injury. He then returned to Port Adelaide’s side in Round 11 and played through to Round 19 before missing another match. The last match of his career was against the Brisbane Lions in Round 21, where he collected 15 disposals.
Toby Thurstans will retire from AFL having played 110 games with Port Adelaide and having kicked 55 goals. He will have achieved Port’s Best First Year Player Award in 2003, a premiership medallion for being a part of Port Adelaide’s Premiership side in 2004 and became a life member of the Port Adelaide Football Club.
As for life after football, Thurstans is studying construction management and economics and he would like to look into developing a career in the construction industry.
Tags: Mark Williams, Toby Thurstans
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