The father of a victim from a coward punch incident has urged the AFL to "establish a standard" by barring Richmond defender Noah Balta from returning to play.
Balta has admitted to the charge of assault and is scheduled to face sentencing on April 22 for the incident involving a 27-year-old man near the Mulwala Water Ski Club.
The Tigers' backman received a suspension of four premiership season matches, following an additional exclusion from two trial games, as decided by his club and approved by the AFL due to the incident that occurred on December 30 last year.
Balta’s suspension comes to an end this weekend, making him eligible to make his comeback in Richmond’s round-five match against Fremantle on Sunday. The player, who is 25 years old, will be available for selection then.
Matt Cronin, whose son Pat was killed after being punched at a pub in 2016,
“They’ve ticked it off, there’s no doubt about it,” Cronin said on 3AW of the AFL’s stance. “I think they’ve made their decision, sadly.
“The AFL has a terrific opportunity to set a benchmark.
“He’s brought Richmond into disrepute.”
Tigers coach Adam Yze, last week, came out in support of his player, suggesting that he would play him as soon as he was available and fit – and neither Richmond nor the AFL has considered extending his ban.
But former Geelong star Jimmy Bartel was not happy at the coach’s comments that he said do not reflect the seriousness of what has occured.
“Adam Yze’s comments don’t sit comfortably with me,” Jimmy Bartel said on Footy Classified.
“It came across as Noah is being hard done by – the fact that he has had to sit so much time out and had to deal with it.
We're aiming to remove that kind of behavior from our community.
Noah Balta. (Image by Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)
Let's avoid talking about football altogether. It's like they can't behave appropriately in society.
In the Corowa Local Court, Balta admitted guilt for the charge of assault causing actual bodily harm. In New South Wales, this offense has a maximum possible sentence of five years behind bars.
The prosecutors argued that Balta’s behavior, resulting in Thomas Washbrook being hospitalized due to head injuries, qualified as a serious offense warranting higher charges.
The court viewed CCTV video showing Balta dashing out of the club and ramming into Washbrook with his shoulder, causing Washbrook to fall down.
Court documents state Balta punched Washbrook’s head two to three times and assisted his brother by holding the man down.
Balta punched Washbrook twice more in the head before he was pulled away from the victim, who was bleeding from a three-centimetre head wound.
Balta’s defence team admitted to the court the incident was serious, but argued the assault was at the higher end of a mid-level offence.
His lawyer Belinda Franjic told the court the offence was “completely and utterly out of character” for the AFL star.
Outgoing AFL Players Association chief Paul Marsh said the AFL had the chance to help rehabilitate Balta.
"There has been a disciplinary procedure, which Noah has completed. Therefore, he has the right to participate this week. Whether he will play remains unclear," Marsh stated.
At present, we're thinking about Noah more broadly. It seems like he has several issues or challenges coming his way, which is the greater concern.
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But if engaging wholeheartedly, and I believe participating in football can serve as a good diversion, then being part of an organization that interacts with him regularly each day is quite beneficial… I think the club will make the appropriate choice.
He has undergone a procedure involving his suspension, so I believe it’s fitting that this remains as the imposed suspension.
He is currently undergoing legal proceedings, and a decision will be reached once those are concluded. However, there has also been a football-related process, which led to this outcome.
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Rankine race timing for the clash with the Cats
Matthew Nicks finds himself conflicted about whether he should have Izak Rankine participate in the AFL Gather Round kickoff match against Geelong due to broader worries for the future.
The player from The Crows has sustained an injury to their calf muscle and is still uncertain to play in the crucial match at Adelaide Oval on Thursday evening.
They plan to conduct training sessions at suburban Prospect on Wednesday afternoon, and the Adelaide coach confesses, "I really hope he can participate" when facing the Cats.
However, due to Rankine’s rapid movements on the field and his past hamstring injury, the Crows will be cautious with him.
It's something we need to keep an eye on—the speed he reaches and the strain he puts on his calf muscle," Nicks stated on Tuesday. "The last thing we want is to lose him for about a month.
Izak thrives in the spotlight, so he's exerting effort and is very keen to perform. The choice will be made together.
We placed our trust in him to make the correct choice, but we might need to intervene if necessary.
It will likely come down to a game-time decision, but we'll gather additional information by Wednesday.
Teammate Matt Crouch is expected to come back into the lineup when they face the Cats, as he was held out during their contentious defeat against Gold Coast.
Izak Rankine. (Image by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Later in Saturday’s game, Rankine had a potential mark or free kick close to the goal disallowed, and subsequently, the AFL acknowledged an officiating mistake.
It is the most recent among multiple instances where the league has acknowledged erroneous calls made against the Crows.
Although Nick acknowledged that the recent umpiring mistake might serve as motivation moving forward, at present, the Crows have their sights set on facing Geelong.
"We tend to progress rather swiftly both as a team and with our coaching staff when it comes to matters like that," stated the Adelaide Crows' coach.
It’s something we might utilize over a longer period, perhaps in the future for inspiration in various ways. However, it’s certainly not our immediate focus.
It’s not worth expending energy over this. I’m aware that there’s plenty of external discussion, but internally at the club, there isn’t any.
We've likely picked up some valuable insights over the past three or four years — mainly our capacity to remain present.
with AAP