Thorne did not make much of an impact in his first two league seasons but did kick a six-goal haul in a win over South Melbourne at the MCG.
He spent the next four years at East Perth before returning to Melbourne for the 1984 VFL season.
Amongst his 17 goals for the year was a bag of seven against Footscray, with his teammate Kelvin Templeton contributing eight.
Back in Western Australia, Thorne played at Claremont and was a member of their 1987 premiership team.
Thorne became a biology teacher at Christ Church Grammar School in 1995, currently teaching for 24 years.