Researching Paul Thomas

After spending a year on the Adelaide Crows list as a rookie in 2002, Thomas went back to the SANFL where he worked on improving his game, and he won a Magarey Medal in 2004. The Essendon Football Club picked him up in the 2004 AFL Draft but was delisted at the end of the 2005 AFL season after eight games for Essendon.

Thomas returned to Central District in 2006 and was appointed club captain in 2007. He was captain of the Bulldogs winning SANFL Grand Final teams in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. He won his second Norm Russell Medal as Central Districts Best & Fairest in 2009 to add to his 2004 win and in 2008 was named the Bob Quinn Medalist as for his best on ground effort in the SANFL's annual ANZAC Day match played at the Adelaide Oval between the previous season's grand finalists.

On 26 May 2012 Thomas was given the honor of captaining South Australia when they defeated Western Australia by 14 points, 15.11 (101) to 13.9 (87) at Gliderol Stadium @ Glenelg in Adelaide.

Outside league football, Thomas works at Henley High School, as a P.E. teacher and the football (AFL) Specialist Sport Program coach...

Thomas's father Jamie Thomas played 153 games for Central Districts in the 1980s.

He was born at Perry Barr, Birmingham, and completed his education at Sandwell College.

A real paceman, he made his first-class debut against a team of West Indians for Worcestershire in 1995, after breaking through with a quick wicket. Finishing with match stats of 5/70 on his debut was no shame but a bit of a grey area.

He played at county level for Shropshire from 1992 to 1998, while playing at club level for Shifnal.

His second season was to prove harder than his debut, and he was released in 1997. Determined to stay in the game, he relegated himself to Second XI cricket with Derbyshire, and though he was only to make one first-class appearance for the Peakites, this was perhaps the appearance which epitomized his career, as he exemplified phenomenal pace and great comfort within the team.

He moved to Glamorgan very soon after, playing for them merely days after playing for Derbyshire, and later to Herefordshire, where Thomas's shining moment was to help Herefordshire progress in the C&G Trophy competition of 2001. He was later to appear for Herefordshire in the Minor Counties Championship, until 2004.

Thomas was born in Harrogate, United Kingdom, and attended the University of Auckland.

Thomas' novels are set primarily in Australia and New Zealand, and often also in France, where he spent several years in Toulouse. He is known for his humorous writing style, especially in the novels featuring Tito Ihaka, a Māori detective in Auckland. The Ihaka novels also draw a panoramic view of the contemporary society in Auckland.

While Thomas' earlier work consists primarily of crime and sports novels, his recent books explore the psychological state-of-mind of middle-aged urban people at the beginning of the new century.

Inside Dope (German title: Transfer) and Dirty Laundry (Schmutzige Wäsche) have been translated and published in German.

From March 1994 to December 1995, Thomas was the Planning President of the university, then named the Sunshine Coast University College. In 1996, he became the inaugural Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast. He retired from office in 2010.

On May 2012, the Minister for Health of Queensland Lawrence Springborg announced that Thomas had been appointed Chair of the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Board. This new role involves the new Sunshine Coast University Hospital in which the Queensland Government is investing $2.03 billion.

Originally from Creighton, Nebraska, Thomas graduated from Wayne State College in Nebraska and began his coaching career in 1985 as an assistant coach at Wayne State College and a local high school. Thomas had his first head coaching position from 1988 to 1990 at Hamline, a largely unsuccessful stint with only one win in two seasons. He moved to California to be an assistant coach at Cal Poly Pomona for four years before being promoted to head coach, a position he held from 1994 to 2006. Thomas was far more successful at Cal Poly Pomona, leading the Broncos to two NCAA Division II national titles in 2001 and 2002 and five California Collegiate Athletic Association titles.

In 2006, Thomas got his first coaching job at the NCAA Division I level as head coach at Saint Mary's. Thomas has over 250 wins at Saint Mary's in his first 14 seasons along with 10 consecutive appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament from 2010 to 2019.

Thomas was educated at Cardiff High School, Oriel College, Oxford, and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He was ordained deacon in 1979, and priest in 1980. After a curacy at Llangynwyd with Maesteg, he was Team Vicar of Langport from 1985 to 1990. He was Priest in charge of Thorp Arch and Walton from 1990 to 19; Vicar of Nether with Upper Poppleton from 1993 to 2004; Parish Development Advisor for the Diocese of Lichfield from 2004 to 2011; and Priest in charge of Forton since 2011.