Thomas Baulch

Thomas William Baulch (born 23 September 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]

Thomas Baulch
Baulch playing for Aspley in 2019
Personal information
Full name Thomas William Baulch
Date of birth (2003-09-23) 23 September 2003
Place of birth Gladstone, Queensland, Australia
Original team(s) Mackay City Hawks
Height 195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 77 kg (170 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)

As of October 2023, he has more than 450,000 followers on social media, including 280,000 on TikTok.[3][4]

Football career

Early years

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

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

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

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

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

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 The Roar from 2015 until 2018.[24]

Statistics

As of June 2024, Baulch has played for at least 16 different clubs in a dozen different leagues.[5]

Legend
  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
2017East Perth10 65169521214190.80.211.58.620.26.81.5
2018East Perth10147621013034096470.50.415.09.324.36.93.4
2019Aspley26 15961518823945480.60.410.15.915.93.03.2
2021[lower-alpha 1]Aspley13 53263299322100.60.412.65.818.44.42.0
  1. 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
  1. "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.
  2. Dick, Callum. "Meet the local footy TikTok star whose elite fitness business boomed after sipping a beer playing footy". CODE Sports.
  3. 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.
  4. "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.
  5. "Thomas Baulch". PlayHQ. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  6. "Mackay Under 14 Team Named". GameDay. AFL Mackay. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
  7. "NQ U16 Academy Championships results". AFL Queensland. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
  8. "THOMAS BAULCH". WAFL. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  9. "Round 21 Colts Wrap". East Perth Football Club. 29 August 2018. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023.
  10. "Top 25 possession winners for 2018 (home-and-away season)" (PDF). Football Budget. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2024.
  11. "Thomas BAULCH". NEAFL. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
  12. "2019 NEAFL Round 3". GameDay. North East Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
  13. "VFL 2021: Aspley Hornets Player List". ZeroHanger. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
  14. "VFL boost: Foxtel to broadcast Thursday night VFL games". Herald Sun. Leader. ASPLEY [...] Development list [...] Thomas Baulch
  15. "Thomas Baulch". VFL Stats. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  16. "Southport v Aspley". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  17. "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.
  18. "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.
  19. "'Enjoy the game': Darwin footballer suspended after midgame beer". Fox Sports. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024.
  20. Moir, Andrew (1 December 2022). "Wangaratta Rovers sign ex-VFL player and social media star Tom Baulch". The Border Mail. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  21. "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.
  22. "Social media sensation 'Prime Train' headed for the Farrer League". The Daily Advertiser. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  23. "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.
  24. "Tom Baulch". The Roar. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
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