Dale ‘Daisy’ Thomas grew up in Drouin with his mother Kaye and sister Jessica.

Growing up he idolised Geelong’s Gary Ablett Snr, who also grew up in Drouin, and would watch tapes of his games repeatedly. Dale was selected in the TAC Cup Team of the Year and named as an All-Australian in the 2005 Under-18 Championships where he represented VIC Country.

Dale was selected by Collingwood with their first pick (pick two) in the 2005 AFL draft. He immediately made and impact at AFL level, debuting in round one of the 2006 AFL season.

In round two, he was nominated for the AFL Rising Star award and was already a cult figure at Collingwood. During his first ANZAC Day match against Essendon in 2006, he was nominated for both Mark of the Year and Goal of the Year.

Even though he suffered a collar bone injury later in the year, Daisy became so popular in his first season of AFL, that guernsey’s with his number sold twice as many as the then captain, Nathan Buckley, at the clubs merchandise shop.

In 2010, Dale became a premiership player when Collingwood were victorious in the Grand Final replay against St Kilda by 56 points.. Daisy was instrumental in the Pies success, being named in the best on both occasions (Grand Final and Grand Final Replay).

After eight years at Collingwood, Dale moved to the Carlton Football Club as a restricted free agent at the end of the 2013 season. He was reunited with his former coach Mick Malthouse, Dale has often referred to Mick as a father figure and someone who was very influential on his career.

Dale announced his retirement at the end of 2019, after 14 seasons and 258 games.

In his spare time, Dale enjoys playing golf and hitting up the racetrack. Fittingly, Dale is an ambassador for TaylorMade Golf and Pointsbet Australia, he is also a proud parent to his daughter, Matilda aged six.

He is currently an ambassador for Nissan Australia, TaylorMade, Adidas and Pointsbet.