Noah Balta is likely to play in Richmond’s AFL side on Saturday just days before he is sentenced for assault over a December attack on a man in Mulwala, if he makes it through training uninjured.
Coach Adem Yze said Balta had been “punished enough” and was available to be selected after serving a six-match suspension – including two pre-season games – and playing in the club’s VFL side last week.
Noah Balta at Richmond training last year.Credit: Justin McManus
“I’m not going to divulge who we’re going to put in that team today before we go through selection and before we need to,” said Yze.
“If he trains well enough, he’ll be available for the selection this weekend and we’ll make that decision later tonight.”
Balta pleaded guilty in the Corowa Local Court to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is among those who have called for 25-year-old Balta to continue to sit on the sidelines until he is sentenced and said last week that the attack was “sickening”.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon previously said the league was “comfortable” in allowing Balta to play before being sentenced in court.
Yze said Balta had served his league suspension and last week’s stint in the VFL stint was to prove the key defender was match fit.
“At the start of this whole process, he’s been working on himself, and he can’t wait to get out and … try to earn the respect back of not only us as a club and his teammates but … our supporters and the AFL,” said Yze.
“He’s a Richmond man … we’ve punished him enough.”
After fielding several questions about Balta, Yze he was “not going to answer any more questions about him” and wanted to focus on the club’s upcoming match against undefeated Gold Coast.
Balta settled a civil case with assault victim Thomas Washbrook last month after a NSW court was shown CCTV footage of the assault.
He is due to be sentenced on April 22.
