Thomas Simsheight: 199cm
D.O.B: 12-05-2006
Position: Ruck Forward
Club: Northern Knights
Leagues: AFL U18 Championships, Coates Talent League Boys
SNAPSHOT: “An intimidating physical presence either inside 50 or at the stoppages who covers the ground exceptionally well for his size with outstanding athleticism.” – Adrian Dixon
Thomas Sims from the Northern Knights is another exciting dual position prospect for many clubs ahead of the draft. The Parade College product boasts excellent athleticism and mobility for a player of his size and has quite strong hands, boasting plenty of upside overall.
Coming from an athletics background, Sims first started his junior football in the Northern Football League with Wallan before moving to Montmorency at 11 years old, where he would go on to represent the competition in interleague football at Under 15 level.
Sims would make his debut for the Northern Knights Under 18s as a bottom-ager in 2023, managing eight games for the season and kicking six goals. He also featured for the Montmorency Under 19s on eight occasions, kicking 15 goals and went on to make his senior debut for the club that same season.
Heading into 2024, Sims had not earned selection in either Vic Metro or the AFL Academy to start the season, however from Round 1 he made most, if not every post a winner. He started the season off with five goals in a big seven-goal win over the Western Jets and a few weeks later made the most of his opportunities against the Oakleigh Chargers with seven goals.
He would play a key role in Vic Metro’s National Championships title win which included a three-goal haul against Western Australia and also managed to play for Parade in the Herald Sun Shield finals win in August. To top it off, Sims’ testing at the National Combine recently was exceptional where he managed top 10 finishes in the running vertical jump and agility tests.
Along with partner-in-crime Gabriel Stumpf, Sims is also another Northern Knight key forward who models his game on Geelong star Jeremy Cameron. He also draws some comparisons to Kieran Briggs of the GWS Giants with regards to his physicality with his ruck work.
https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/thomas-sims/
