Former West Coast turned Hawthorn star Tom Barrass has opened up on how his father’s legacy has shaped him and why he almost made an early exit from the AFL.

Barrass is the son of former legendary journalist Tony worked as a crime reporter in Melbourne before moving to WA, serving as the WA Bureau Chief of The Australian before stints at The West Australian and The Sunday Times.

It was in his adopted state where Tony garnered national fame, becoming the first Australian journalist to be jailed for refusing to reveal his source to a court of law.

“My dad was an incredible human, and he used to always let us know,” he joked on Channel 7’s Unfiltered.

“He was reporting on a big tax court that went down, and the Supreme Court said, ‘ Hey, you’ve got to tell us who told you so we can prosecute.’

“He told them no out of the ethics of the job to say, ‘there’s no more journalism or reporting if I sacrifice my source and blow their cover.’

“And so they sent him to jail, and I think he had to do a month; he only had to do three or four nights in maximum security.”

Tom said his father’s principles are what shaped his values both as a footballer and in life.

“I think when he died, in his memory, that’s very much what people say is he’s very ethical and has a sense of self, and I think that’s where I derived a lot of my identity from him,” he said.

“Be yourself and do the right thing the best you can, and he’d say the sun will always come up the next day no matter what happens, and famously he did the right thing and will be forever a legend because of it.”

It comes as Barrass prepares for Hawthorn’s preliminary final against Brisbane, where he hopes to earn entry to a second grand final in just his second season since joining the Hawks.

Barrass was part of the Eagles’ 2018 triumph but the 30-year-old admitted trying to recapture that success in subsequent years had left him burnt out, revealing he had considered an early retirement.

“I was exhausted; I burnt myself out after three or four years of trying to do more and staying positive plus having two young kids under two,” he said.

“I got to a point where my gut told me I needed to change, and initally I was thinking of just actually retiring. I wasn’t enjoying football anymore.

“Then just at that time Sam Mitchell entered the picture, who had a team that was going better than he thought and expected.”

Despite his love for West Coast, Barrass said he could see a regeneration coming that would have potentially left him on the outer with a new group.

“I had my best mates at West Coast like Jeremy McGovern and Dom Sheed, but then there was a bit of a gap, and I could see the wheels turning that the club needed change and refreshment, and there was a timer when all of that would run out,” he said.

“And I realised my values and loyalty no longer rested with them and the Eagles but with my family; they’re going to be here forever, so it was like I’ve got nothing to lose here, and I’m going to have a crack at Melbourne.”

Unfiltered with Tom Barrass, airs 9.30pm Wednesday following The Front Bar on Seven and 7plus Sport.