Thomas Baulch
| Thomas Baulch | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Thomas William Baulch | ||
| Date of birth | 26 November 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Gladstone, Queensland, Australia | ||
| Original team(s) | Mackay City Hawks | ||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder-forward | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2017−2018 | East Perth (WAFL Colts) | 20 (12) | |
| 2019−2021 | Aspley (NEAFL/VFL) | 20 (12) | |
Thomas William Baulch (born 26 November 2003) is an Australian rules footballer and social media personality.[1] He is the founder and CEO of Prime Train, a fitness business he began in 2020.[2]
As of October 2023, he has more than 450,000 followers on social media, including 280,000 on TikTok.[3][4]
Football career
[edit]Early years
[edit]Baulch grew up in Gladstone, Queensland.[4] He first played for the Mackay City Hawks as an under-13s player in the AFL Mackay competition in 2012, and was named in AFL Mackay representative sides as an under-14s player in 2013 and under-16s player in 2015.[5][6][7]
WAFL
[edit]In 2017, Baulch moved to Perth and joined East Perth in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) Colts competition, playing six games in his first season.[5][8]
He played a further 14 games in 2018, and was the ninth-highest possession winner in the Colts that year, with a total of 340 possessions.[9][10]
NEAFL and VFL
[edit]Baulch relocated to Brisbane and joined Aspley in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) in 2019. He made his debut in round 3 against Brisbane, kicking one goal in a 48-point loss, and finished the season with nine goals from 15 games.[11][12]
After the NEAFL disbanded in 2020, Baulch remained with Aspley as a development player when the club joined the Victorian Football League (VFL) for the 2021 season.[13][14]
He made his VFL debut in round 1 against Port Melbourne.[15] His best performance came against Southport in round 2, where he had 25 disposals and kicked two goals, however he only played a further three games before the season was curtailed.[16]
NTFL
[edit]Baulch joined Darwin in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) for the 2021–22 season.[17]
During the fourth quarter of Darwin's round 18 match against Southern Districts, he took a sip from a beer handed to him on-field by a spectator.[18] Video of the moment went viral, with the NTFL suspending Baulch for two weeks, ordering him to remove the video from his social media accounts and write a letter of apology to AFL Northern Territory.[19]
Local leagues
[edit]Baulch has played for a number of clubs in local football leagues. In December 2022, he signed with Wangaratta Rovers in the Ovens & Murray Football Netball League for the 2023 season, kicking 18 goals in 13 games.[20][21]
In 2024, he played in the AFL London competition.[22]
Business career
[edit]Baulch founded Prime Train in 2020, a fitness business for Australian rules footballers. Clients have included Brownlow Medalists Patrick Cripps and Tom Mitchell, with Baulch currently serving as CEO.[23]
Baulch wrote articles for The Roar from 2015 until 2018.[24]
Statistics
[edit]As of June 2024, Baulch has played for at least 16 different clubs in a dozen different leagues.[5]
G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2017 | East Perth | 10 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 69 | 52 | 121 | 41 | 9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 11.5 | 8.6 | 20.2 | 6.8 | 1.5 |
| 2018 | East Perth | 10 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 210 | 130 | 340 | 96 | 47 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 15.0 | 9.3 | 24.3 | 6.9 | 3.4 |
| 2019 | Aspley | 26 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 151 | 88 | 239 | 45 | 48 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 10.1 | 5.9 | 15.9 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| 2021[a] | Aspley | 13 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 63 | 29 | 93 | 22 | 10 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 12.6 | 5.8 | 18.4 | 4.4 | 2.0 |
- ^ The 2021 VFL season was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with clubs playing an uneven number of games before the season was eventually curtailed without a premiership awarded.
References
[edit]- ^ "Bush and 'Burbs: Social media sensation Thomas Baulch, or Prime Train, dominates in Kalgoorlie appearance". The West Australian. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Dick, Callum. "Meet the local footy TikTok star whose elite fitness business boomed after sipping a beer playing footy". CODE Sports.
- ^ Saeed, Daanyal. "Prime Train: Local footy player with a cult following on social media opens up". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Why young Australians' 'social media influencer' job may not last". Augusta-Margaret River Mail. 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b c "Thomas Baulch". PlayHQ. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Mackay Under 14 Team Named". GameDay. AFL Mackay. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
- ^ "NQ U16 Academy Championships results". AFL Queensland. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
- ^ "THOMAS BAULCH". WAFL. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Round 21 Colts Wrap". East Perth Football Club. 29 August 2018. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Top 25 possession winners for 2018 (home-and-away season)" (PDF). Football Budget. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Thomas BAULCH". NEAFL. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
- ^ "2019 NEAFL Round 3". GameDay. North East Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
- ^ "VFL 2021: Aspley Hornets Player List". ZeroHanger. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
- ^ "VFL boost: Foxtel to broadcast Thursday night VFL games". Herald Sun. Leader.
ASPLEY [...] Development list [...] Thomas Baulch
- ^ "Thomas Baulch". VFL Stats. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Southport v Aspley". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Former WAFL colts footballer Thomas Baulch suspended for mid-game beer in Northern Territory". Perth Now. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Two-week ban for on-field sip of beer, but footy player says punishment does not fit crime". ABC News. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
- ^ "'Enjoy the game': Darwin footballer suspended after midgame beer". Fox Sports. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
- ^ Moir, Andrew (1 December 2022). "Wangaratta Rovers sign ex-VFL player and social media star Tom Baulch". The Border Mail. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Prime Train: Wangaratta Rovers yet to agree a new deal with Tom Baulch". The Border Mail. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
Tom Baulch kicked 18 goals in 13 games for Wangaratta Rovers this year.
- ^ "Social media sensation 'Prime Train' headed for the Farrer League". The Daily Advertiser. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "HOW A SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERSTAR HELPS BROWNLOW MEDALLISTS IMPROVE IN THE OFF-SEASON". SEN. 28 October 2022. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Tom Baulch". The Roar. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.