Yet amid this maturing and developing of his game, he hasn't sacrificed his ability to deliver the freakish things that bring crowds to their feet.
All the tricks in Thomas' repertoire were on display when Collingwood thrashed the West Coast Eagles by 52 points at the MCG on Sunday.
In the first quarter, he soccered a goal out of mid-air after teammate Dane Swan smothered a handball from Eagles defender Shannon Hurn.
He was at it again in the second, hauling in a brilliant mark over West Coast big man Nic Naitanui.
A short time later, he performed his most audacious feat of the afternoon when he grabbed the ball just inside the 50m arc, ran towards the boundary line, then curled a left-foot banana kick through the big sticks.
"I did have a quick little peek to the top of the square, so I think Travis Cloke was there but so was an extra Eagle, if my memory serves me correctly," Thomas said with a grin after the game.
"If it doesn't go through I suppose the coach says, 'kick it to the top of the square'. But when they do go through it's always nice."
With players like Thomas and Andrew Krakouer providing almost regular contenders for both mark and goal of the year, Collingwood supporters have seen their team develop into the most entertaining outfit in the competition.
"There's a lot I'm not allowed to do, but when they come off you're allowed to do them," joked Thomas, who has now played 120 AFL games.
"They're always nice when they come off, but we do muck around and practise them at training so they probably look a little bit harder than what they are at times."
Of course, Thomas did plenty more against the Eagles than just provide a few highlights for the nightly television news bulletins.
The 23-year-old ended the match with 30 possessions (11 contested), three tackles, three clearances and six rebounds from defensive 50.
"He's just got the unique ability in 2011 to be able to play a number of roles," coach Mick Malthouse said.
"He's played half-back, he's played half-forward, he's played wing, he's played as a defensive mid, he's played as an offensive mid.
"He's really played six or seven positions today and over the last few weeks and they've all been at a high quality.
"You know what you're going to get with Daisy. He takes his football very, very seriously.
"He just loves the game and he's obviously loved it since he was a kid.
"Now he's living his dream and he's able to play the role that we want him to play."
