If we were to start with a cold assessment it would be that North Melbourne will be better off without Tarryn Thomas.
And for the meantime, so will footy.
There has always been an equation as to how much trouble a club is willing to endure and how much time and effort it is prepared to invest in a single player measured against how big the on-field pay-off might be.
Call it the talent versus trouble graph.
Thomas is a prodigious talent.
And Thomas is bad news.
The Kangaroos have been thorough and patient with Thomas. They have fulfilled their obligations. They are more likely to be accused of indulging him rather than callously tossing him back into the community.
But breaking point is at hand.
There comes a moment when it’s no longer about reforming a recidivist. It’s about what a club’s actions and standards look like to the rest of the locker room.
This is now the club of teenagers who will give their all for their careers and their team.
It’s the club of Harry Sheezel and George Wardlaw. Of Colby McKercher, Zane Duursma and Taylor Goad.
To cling to the idea that Thomas might still be the difference is to live a delusion.
North Melbourne will be better off without Tarryn Thomas.
And if the AFL sanction ultimately lands at 18 matches then that in itself will tell you the game will be better off without him too.
It can’t be a perpetual haven for those who are unable or unwilling to curb their behaviour.