Thomas Lynch (born 15 September 1990) is a former professional Australian rules football player who last played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for St Kilda and Adelaide. He was recruited by St Kilda from Sandringham Dragons Under 18 TAC Cup team with pick 13 in the 2008 National Draft. Lynch who had not played a game for North Melbourne since signing with the club prior to the 2022 season announced his retirement from North Melbourne on 31 May 2022 to make space for the mid season draft. He played a 158 games at senior level predominantly for the Adelaide Crows where he played. Prior to that he had played six senior games for St Kilda. [1] Lynch was then traded to Adelaide following the 2011 season.[2]

Tom Lynch
Lynch in June 2019
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Telford Lynch
Nickname(s)	Tig, The Chief
Date of birth	(1990-09-15) 15 September 1990 (age 32)
Original team(s)	Beaumaris Haileybury College Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup)
Draft	No. 13, 2008 national draft
Debut	Round 18, 2010, St Kilda vs. Essendon, at Etihad Stadium
Height	191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	87 kg (192 lb)
Position(s)	Key forward, Connector role
Club information
Current club	North Melbourne
Number	42
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2009–2011	St Kilda	006 00(4)
2012–2021	Adelaide	152 (193)
2022	North Melbourne	000 00(0)
Total		158 (197)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021 season.
Career highlights
Adelaide leading goalkicker (2013) Showdown Medal (round 2, 2016)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career

St Kilda (2009–2011)

St Kilda's first pick in the 2008 draft, Lynch did not play senior football in 2009.[3] He made his AFL debut in round 18 of the 2010 season against Essendon.[4] He had five disposals and was dropped for the following week's match.[5]

Lynch played five games in 2011 and kicked four goals, including two in a game against North Melbourne.[6] At the end of the season, Lynch was traded from St Kilda to Adelaide as part of a three-way deal with Richmond, who received ruckman Ivan Maric from Adelaide whilst trading pick 37 to St Kilda.[2]

Adelaide (2012–2021)

Lynch played his first game for the Crows in the first round of the 2012 season.[7] He went on to play six games in his first season at the Crows, but became a regular member of the team the next year, playing 17 matches and leading Adelaide's goalkicking with 33 goals.[6] This included a 10-goal game against Greater Western Sydney, making Lynch only the third player to score ten or more goals in a game for Adelaide.[8] In 2014, however, Lynch suffered a wretched run of injuries, including a dislocated shoulder in a pre-season trial game,[9] a broken jaw in a collision with Melbourne's Jack Viney in round 7,[10] and, after a late-season return, a season-ending fractured neck in a collision against the Brisbane Lions in round 20.[11] In total, he played eight games, and only one where he was available and uninjured for the whole game: a 25-disposal, two-goal effort against the Western Bulldogs in round 6.[6]

Lynch established himself in Adelaide's forward line in 2015, playing all 23 games, kicking 32 goals and having 30 goal assists, the most for the season by any player.[6] Late in the season he signed a new three-year contract with the Crows.[12]

In Round 7 of 2017, he was tackled to the ground heavily by North Melbourne player Jarrad Waite in the second quarter, getting concussed and not being able to return to the ground for the rest of the match.[13] Later in the season Lynch was hospitalized with viral meningitis, but he bounced back from it in Round 17 against Melbourne, managing 27 possessions, 11 marks and three goals for the match.[14]

He was not offered a contract by Adelaide for the 2022 season and was delisted at the conclusion of the 2021 season.

North Melbourne (2022)

After being delisted by Adelaide, Lynch joined North Melbourne as a development coach in November 2021. He was later signed to the club's list ahead of the 2022 AFL season as part of the supplemental selection period (SSP). Lynch officially retired from playing on 31 May 2022.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Lynch is an ambassador for the RSPCA greyhound adoption plan. He has 11 ex-racing greyhounds.[15]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to end of season, 2017[16]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tom Lynch (Australian footballer, born 1990).

• Tom Lynch's playing statistics from AFL Tables