‘Bombshell' conspiracy theory behind Noah Balta's sentencing

News.com.au

23-04-2025

A 'bombshell' conspiracy theory is swirling around the sentence handed down to Richmond defender Noah Balta following his assault trial.
The Tigers star avoided jail time but has been hit with a three-month curfew that rules him out from playing in several upcoming night-time games.
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Balta pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm after it was alleged he assaulted a man who 'had his back turned' during an altercation that unfolded outside a pub in the rural New South Wales town of Mulwala.
The AFL star was facing potential jail time with the maximum penalty of five years imprisonment for such an assault.
After serving a club-imposed four-game suspension, and playing a reserves match last week, Balta controversially returned to the senior line-up for the first time on Saturday night and played a starring role by keeping red-hot forward Ben King to one goal.
However, on Tuesday he was fined $3000 and slapped with an 18-month Community Correction Order (CCO) with a 10pm to 6am curfew and a conviction recorded.
The punishment has a serious impact on Balta's footballing career with the 25-year-old now set to be stood down from several matches because of the curfew imposed, which means he is not allowed to leave his home from 10pm to 6am.
Richmond plays Melbourne in their annual Anzac Day Eve clash on Thursday night, with the first bounce at 7.30pm. He has not been selected for the game.
The Tigers also play Essendon in Dreamtime at the 'G from 7.40pm, while they also have a scheduled twilight clash with GWS in Sydney starting at 4.15pm.
Balta's curfew expires on July 22.
According to reports, Balta's legal representatives attempted to push back against the curfew imposed, but NSW Magistrate Melissa Humphreys maintained that was the punishment.
It was widely speculated on Tuesday night that the Tigers' decision to select Balta to play against the Gold Coast backfired badly with suggestions the magistrate was influenced to hand down the consequential curfew because of the media storm that surrounded his return to the AFL before his trial had ben completed.
Veteran footy journalist Caroline Wilson on Tuesday night said the curfew punishment was a 'bombshell' that the club didn't see coming.
'Magistrate Magistrate Melissa Humphreys shocked everyone including Noah Balta and the Richmond Football Club,' she said on Channel 7's Agenda Setters.
'The AFL didn't say it was shocked, but I think they were when they realised that the curfew was going to be part of the penalty.'
She said the curfew had thrown the club into 'confusion'.
She said 'she just didn't believe' that Magistrate Humphreys was not influenced to some degree by the outrage that surrounded Balta's selection for Round 6.
Essendon icon James Hird also speculated the Magistrate was going to make sure there was a 'bigger punishment' because of Richmond's position.
'I think the magistrate has decided, 'I'm going to make sure there is that bigger punishment' because everyone's saying 'poor Noah',' Hird said on Channel 9's Footy Classified.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan had gone public to call Balta's act as 'sickening'.
Balta and the football club have ruled out appealing the sentence handed down.
On top of the sentence handed down, Balta is also reported to have paid $45,000 in compensation to the victim. He will also have had to pay significant legal costs.
Leading football commentator Gerard Whateley also speculated on Tuesday night that the Tigers had made a big mistake in bringing Balta back as soon as he had completed a four-match ban agreed to by the football club and the AFL.
Speaking on Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Tuesday night, co-host Whateley said 'broad community debate' and 'widespread condemnation' — including from Allan — for allowing Balta to play against Gold Coast was a 'terrible backdrop'.
'The unknowable is, was this the full suite of penalties all along? Or the curfew, which was completely unexpected, does it come as a result of the magnitude of the case?,' Whateley posed.
'It had built up, there was a public expectation around meeting a certain standard. Has that become part of it?
'It was very much front of mind and there was a demand for a severe penalty because of the football decision that was taken.
'Had the football decision not been taken, it would've been a much quieter couple of weeks in the build-up to sentencing. I just think it was a poor backdrop where you couldn't see the wood for the trees.
'Football was never the major contemplation here, it was to get through sentencing.'
He went on to say: 'I think the Magistrate made it clear that she was perfectly aware of the football ramifications in doing that. Just as anyone who works a night shift would have to alter their life to serve it.
'Balta is going to accept the penalties as they've been laid out today, he has accepted responsibility the whole way through and that will go to the process of not appealing.