After the belated start to his representative career, Thorp had racked up an amazing fourteen appearances in the Big V in only six years. Heading into the 1925 season aged 34, Thorp played every week and then decided to retire, still on top of his game. In sixteen seasons, he had missed just ten matches, with his worst injury a broken wrist that cost him three games in 1914. Overall, it was a tribute to his sportsmanship and integrity as a player. During his career he had played a major part in the Tigers' rise from mediocrity to the dizzy heights of winning successive premierships that cemented their place as one of the powerhouses of the competition. Thorp appeared in every big game and final the Tigers played, and was always a steady influence when the chips were down. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they couldn't find an adequate replacement for him until the early 1930s, by which time they had lost a succession of Grand Finals when the weakness at full back was often exposed.
