With little prior knowledge of the game he made 5 appearances in Australian rules football during his time as a boarder at Marist College Ashgrove, with his size and athletic ability taking the notice of talent scouts from Collingwood.

Keeffe made his return to AFL ranks the next year in the round 17 loss to Gold Coast.

On 10 August 2015, Thomas accepted his two-year ban from the tribunal and that day was delisted by Collingwood football club but was told he'd be re-drafted as a rookie for the 2017 season if still available in the draft.

[6] He was banned from AFL competition until 9 February 2017[7] On 26 July 2015, teammate Travis Cloke revealed that Keeffe was interested in taking up a role as an NFL punter, and he would soon be travelling to the United States.

[10] He was subsequently signed by the Greater Western Sydney Giants as a delisted free agent in November.