Thomas Barrass (born 8 October 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has played as a key defender since his junior career with Claremont. Barrass was drafted by West Coast with pick 43 of the 2013 national draft, but did not make his senior debut until round 17 of the 2015 AFL season. He was nominated for the 2016 AFL Rising Star and won a premiership with West Coast in 2018. Early life Barrass is the son of journalist Tony Barrass. He grew up in Western Australia and played for Scarborough Junior Football Club. After the club was unable to field an under-17 team due to a lack of players, he started playing for his school Hale. Barrass underwent a growth spurt and was recruited by Western Australian Football League (WAFL) club Claremont. He suffered two injuries which restricted him to three games for Claremont's colts (under-19s) in 2012. Barrass rebounded to captain Claremont in their 2013 colts premiership. He recorded 18 disposals in Claremont's six-point grand final victory over South Fremantle, and believed he was close to lining up for the senior side before dislocating his finger. Barrass played for Western Australia in the 2013 AFL Under 18 Championships, where he was mentored by fellow backman and then-West Coast captain Darren Glass. He recorded an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank above 98 and contemplated attending university to study medicine. AFL career Barrass was drafted by West Coast with pick 43 of the 2013 national draft, their third selection. On arrival at the club he expressed interest in eventually filling a leadership position. In January, prior to the 2014 AFL season, Barrass underwent an arthroscopy to repair a torn hip joint, ruling him out of training for three months. He returned in April to play his first game for East Perth reserves (West Coast's WAFL affiliate). Playing slightly over half the match, Barrass amassed 17 possessions. He played a further seven reserves games for the year. Barrass made his WAFL senior debut against Peel Thunder in round 5 of the 2015 season, recording nine marks. Gavin Bell, West Coast's Head of Development, was impressed with Barrass's performance and noted his marking and ball use as standouts. Teammate Josh Hill likened him to fellow defender Jeremy McGovern for his intercept marking and ability to "read" the play, a comparison