Groom made his senior SANFL debut for South Adelaide aged 18 in Round 1, 1992, against Glenelg, kicking 5 goals.
Unfortunately 5 months later the same knee buckled again and a second reconstruction was required; this in a season which saw North Melbourne take out both the reserves and senior premiership.
He returned to play senior football with North Melbourne at the end of the 1997 season and was a member of the 1998 Ansett Australia Cup winning team.
He retired from AFL football at the end of 1998 due to injuries but went on to play in lower level leagues.
In 2011, he came out of retirement to play three games for the Chicago United Football Club in the Mid American Australian League 2011 Madison Invitational Tournament.