Thomas Derickx (born 7 December 1987) is a model, musician and a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or colloquially the Tiges, is a professional Australian rules football team competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Ric ...

and

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL).

Early life

Derickx is originally from Dunsborough in Western Australia's south-west. Derickx grew up playing Australian Rules Football but it wasn't his passion. He spent a lot of time surfing and began playing guitar during high school. Before joining the

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

, Derickx pursued a career as a carpenter. His father sells animal health products to farmers.

Career

Derickx was drafted to Richmond with the 63rd selection in 2010 AFL Draft from the

Claremont Football Club The Claremont Football Club, nicknamed Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Claremont, Western Australia, that currently plays in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW). Its official colours are na ...

in the WAFL. At the completion of the 2013 season, Derickx was delisted by Richmond. However, he was later signed by the

as a delisted free agent. Derickx made his Swans debut in Round 2,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

against Collingwood. Derickx's biggest battle came in Round 8, 2014 when the Swans played Hawthorn where he rucked the whole game against

Ben McEvoy Ben McEvoy (born 11 July 1989) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early career McEvoy is an Australian Institute of ...

and David Hale and was successful as the Swans got up by 19 points. After a successful first half of the year Derickx was dropped in favour of

Mike Pyke Michael Pyke (born 24 March 1984) is a Canadian retired dual-code football player, who was a professional Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Pyke is the first Canadian national and the fir ...

for the remainder of the year. In 2015, he only played one game for Sydney, spending most of the season playing in the

North East Australian Football League The North East Australian Football League (NEAFL ) was an Australian rules football league in New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The league was formed in November 2010, and its inaugural ...

(NEAFL). He announced his retirement from the AFL at the conclusion of the 2016 season. Since retiring from AFL, Derickx is a fashion model represented by IMG and is part of the dance band Kayex. He has modeled for brands including

Tiffany & Co Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is an American luxury goods, luxury jewelry and specialty design house headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Tiffany is known for its luxury goods, particularly its sterling silver and diam ...

Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

and Jockey Underwear. He is currently studying music composition and production, and released his first solo single "Horror Show" In October 2021.

Personal life

Derickx is an ambassador for suicide prevention charity RUOK? and often discusses his struggles with depression and

toxic masculinity The concept of toxic masculinity is used in academic and media discussions to refer to those aspects of hegemonic masculinity that are socially destructive, such as misogyny, homophobia, and violent domination. These traits are considered "toxi ...

to raise awareness. In 2017, Derickx dated model

Megan Blake Irwin Megan Blake Irwin (Born July 9, 1992) is an Australian model. Irwin was born in Adelaide, Australia and was discovered at age 14 by Pride Models. Both her mother and her sister modeled and she followed in their footsteps. Irwin appeared in M ...

. Derickx resides in Sydney.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Derickx, Tom 1987 births Living people Claremont Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Richmond Football Club players Sydney Swans players Australian people of Belgian descent Coburg Football Club players 21st-century Australian sportsmen