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Tom Barrass
Photo: westcoasteagles.com
DOB
8/10/1995
Height
196cm
Weight
96 kg
Junior club
Claremont/Scarborough JFC
Arrived
Pick 43 in the 2013 national draft
Number
Debut
Round 17 2015 v Sydney
(224th Eagles player)
Games
133
Goals
1
Honours
Premiership medal (2018)
John Worsfold Medal (2022)
Rookie of the Year (2016)
B&F Top 10
4 (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Best Finish
1st (2022)
Other clubs
Claremont (WAFL) 2013
East Perth (WAFL) 2014-2018

Promising key defender Barrass has established himself as one of the league's better stoppers since being drafted from Claremont.

West Coast career[]

Drafted with West Coast's third pick in the 2013 national draft, Barrass started the 2014 season on the injury list after surgery on a hip. After returning, he played just eight games for East Perth’s reserves before being sent off for a season-ending groin operation.

Barrass started the 2015 season in the WAFL reserves but quickly graduated to the league side, where he performed strongly against much more experienced opponents. His surprising form and the team's shortage of fit key defenders saw him called up to make his AFL debut against the Swans, and he played three late-season games.

2016 was a breakout year for the young key defender, who banged down the door with strong form in the WAFL before eventually getting a senior call-up. Once in the AFL side he performed well enough to hold former club champion Eric MacKenzie out of the side in the second half of the year, with his intercept marking a particular feature. Barrass won a Rising Star nomination in the final round.

Although he started the 2017 season outside of the best 22, Barrass quickly established himself in the backline alongside MacKenzie and Jeremy McGovern and played 19 games for the season. With MacKenzie injured in 2018, Barrass began taking the opposition's top forward target on a regular basis. After missing action in the second half of the year due to a persistent back injury, he hit form during the finals and performed a vital shutdown job on Collingwood giant Mason Cox in the Grand Final victory.

Barrass started 2019 strongly, but a month into the season he suffered a foot injury, one of several attributed to the harder Perth Stadium surface, that kept him out of action for several months, and struggled to recapture his form on his return. Barrass rebounded well in 2020, playing every game and finishing fourth in the John Worsfold Medal count, although he had his colours lowered by opposition forwards on occasion including by Mason Cox in the Elimination Final loss. He had another strong season in 2021 despite some injury concerns, and finished in the top ten of the best and fairest for a second straight year.

Barrass went to another level in 2022. Particularly in the second half of what was a dismal year for the club, he regularly blanketed a highly-ranked opponent while holding together an under-siege backline. His form was rewarded with a maiden Worsfold Medal, and selection in the extended All-Australian squad. Barrass failed to reach the same heights in 2023, managing just 14 games before a heavy fall in a marking contest that was initially thought to have caused a shoulder injury was later found to have put a crack in his spine, ending his season early. The star defender was also though to be considering a move to Sydney, despite being midway through a lengthy contract, before eventually confirming he would remain with the club.

Stats[]

AFL Gm G B K M H D T Cl WAFL Gm G B K M H D T
2014 0 EP 0
2015 3 0 0 22 17 15 37 2 0 16 0 0 152 81 46 198 17
2016 10 0 0 69 49 46 115 13 1 11 1 0 141 68 33 174 8
2017 19 0 1 164 121 91 255 21 2 3 2 0 36 24 21 57 4
2018 19 0 0 193 124 49 242 15 2 2 0 0 14 4 6 20 3
2019 14 0 0 131 86 30 161 11 4 WCE 1 0 0 9 7 6 15 7
2020 18 0 0 144 94 37 181 4 1 N/A
2021 16 0 0 168 117 53 221 10 1 WCE 0
2022 19 1 0 210 145 85 295 14 10 0
2023 14 0 0 115 93 66 181 6 0 0
Tot 132 1 1 1216 846 472 1688 96 21
Avg 0.0 9.2 6.4 3.6 12.8 0.7 0.2

News[]

21/11/13: Sheed headlines draft crop

17/1/14: Draftee to have hip operation

23/6/14: Young defenders packed off for surgery

24/7/15: Barrass to debut against Swans

30/7/15: Exciting young trio sign new deals

31/1/17: Key pair sign multi-year deals

2/11/18: Premiership trio re-sign

Tribunal record[]

Year Rd Charge Outcome
2022 22 Engaging in melee Accepted $1,000 fine

References[]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Barrass

http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/T/Tom_Barrass.html

https://www.wafl.com.au/player/thomas-barrass

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