Latest news with #NoahBalta
News.com.au
28-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
AFL 2025: Richmond coach Adem Yze addresses Noah Balta's availability to play GWS
Richmond coach Adem Yze says it would be 'getting a bit cute' by playing defender Noah Balta on limited minutes to return in time for his mandated curfew. Balta was sentenced for assault in April and is under a 10pm to 6am curfew for 18 months. But the Tigers, who tackle GWS in Sydney at 4.15pm on Saturday, will drop Balta to the VFL to eliminate the risk of him missing curfew. The VFL side is also playing GWS at Engie Stadium but in the earlier timeslot of 12.30pm. Yze says Richmond don't want the possibility of being a player short on the bench or to disrespect the sanction by substituting Balta out at halftime. 'We'd be getting a bit cute if we did that and subbed him out because there could be risk that someone else gets injured and then we're putting others at risk,' he said. 'We looked at the option of playing him in the seniors and getting him back on time, but it was just going to be too risky. 'We don't want to go and mess with that. We understand what he's going through (and) it's just around performance and if we can get a game into him, we'll do that. 'It was the only game we considered these things, it wasn't to disrespect what he's going through, it was just around performance and whether we could keep the momentum of him playing. 'Jake Batchelor, our VFL coach, is pretty happy he's going to be available for the pre-game.' Balta has already missed one match as a result of his curfew, sitting out the Anzac Eve clash with Melbourne. While this week is likely to be Balta's final game impacted by curfew this year, Yze says the defender 'needs to play' for his performance and wellbeing. 'If he's going in and out it's obviously hard with performance and the stress of going in and out and what it does to your body,' he said. 'But his wellbeing is really important as well, to go in and out of AFL footy is really tough, you see that with injuries. 'As long as we can get him back on time, he's going to go play VFL. It's an earlier game and he'll come back on his own flight. 'He'll travel (there) with the team, go help our younger defenders in the VFL and get another game into him. 'It'll give him a better chance at performing the following week. We looked at that and we'll do that.'
Daily Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Telegraph
AFL 2025: Richmond coach Adem Yze addresses Noah Balta's availability to play GWS
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Richmond coach Adem Yze says it would be 'getting a bit cute' by playing defender Noah Balta on limited minutes to return in time for his mandated curfew. Balta was sentenced for assault in April and is under a 10pm to 6am curfew for 18 months. But the Tigers, who tackle GWS in Sydney at 4.15pm on Saturday, will drop Balta to the VFL to eliminate the risk of him missing curfew. The VFL side is also playing GWS at Engie Stadium but in the earlier timeslot of 12.30pm. Yze says Richmond don't want the possibility of being a player short on the bench or to disrespect the sanction by substituting Balta out at halftime. 'We'd be getting a bit cute if we did that and subbed him out because there could be risk that someone else gets injured and then we're putting others at risk,' he said. 'We looked at the option of playing him in the seniors and getting him back on time, but it was just going to be too risky. 'We don't want to go and mess with that. We understand what he's going through (and) it's just around performance and if we can get a game into him, we'll do that. Noah Balta will play for Richmond's VFL side this week. Picture:'It was the only game we considered these things, it wasn't to disrespect what he's going through, it was just around performance and whether we could keep the momentum of him playing. 'Jake Batchelor, our VFL coach, is pretty happy he's going to be available for the pre-game.' Balta has already missed one match as a result of his curfew, sitting out the Anzac Eve clash with Melbourne. While this week is likely to be Balta's final game impacted by curfew this year, Yze says the defender 'needs to play' for his performance and wellbeing. 'If he's going in and out it's obviously hard with performance and the stress of going in and out and what it does to your body,' he said. 'But his wellbeing is really important as well, to go in and out of AFL footy is really tough, you see that with injuries. 'As long as we can get him back on time, he's going to go play VFL. It's an earlier game and he'll come back on his own flight. 'He'll travel (there) with the team, go help our younger defenders in the VFL and get another game into him. 'It'll give him a better chance at performing the following week. We looked at that and we'll do that.' Originally published as AFL 2025: Richmond coach Adem Yze addresses Noah Balta's availability to play GWS
Perth Now
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
‘He's a leader': Tiger straight back in after curfew
Richmond coach Adem Yze hailed the leadership value Noah Balta can deliver for the Tigers as he confirmed a return for the star defender who missed last week due to a court-imposed curfew. Balta will be forced to watch Richmond's night and interstate games until the end of July as part of his sentence for assaulting a man in regional NSW on December 30 last year. He missed last Thursday's Anzac Day eve loss to Melbourne and didn't play in the VFL, rested due to the toll the week's events had taken. But the 25-year-old premiership defender will walk straight back into the side for Sunday's clash with Hawthorn in a 'good spot' and Yze said Balta brought value beyond his mere playing ability for a young Tigers outfit. 'The way he played last time, he'll be in our team,' Yze said on Thursday. 'He had a great session over the weekend … we got some volume into him and he's had a great week on the track. Noah Balta was sentenced in Albury Court. David Geraghty/ NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia 'He's such a good teammate, the players love having him around, part of the group, and he's a leader out there. 'He's had a nice week and he's ready to go.' Having played last Thursday off a short break, Yze said the players were given a 'freshen up' over the weekend and were now 'running on top of the ground' ahead of the clash with the Hawks who have more to play for on Sunday. Hawthorn will mark their 100th anniversary just over a century to the day since the club's first VFL encounter against Richmond on May 2, 1925. But while the Hawks could rise, Yze suggested there could be 'payback' after they lost last year's clash, which was superstar Dustin Martin's 300th game. 'It's a bit ironic,' Yze said. 'In Dusty's 300th we played against the Hawks and they spoiled the party that day, so it might be a bit of payback (this week).'
News.com.au
23-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Bombshell' conspiracy theory behind Noah Balta's sentencing
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. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. 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.
Perth Now
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
‘Really remorseful': Balta not playing after court case
Richmond coach Adem Yze says remorseful defender Noah Balta wants to 'repay the club's faith' in the wake of his sentencing for assault but won't play this weekend as he and the club deal with the fallout. On Tuesday Balta was handed a 10pm-6am curfew until July 22 and a ban on interstate travel as well as being convicted and fined for assaulting a man outside a regional NSW venue last year. The curfew means the 25-year-old can't play in Thursday's Anzac Day eve clash with Melbourne but he won't play in the VFL match earlier in the day either and was absent from the club after a 'tough day' which included attending court in Albury. Noah Balta arrives at Albury Court for sentencing over the assault of a man in December. David Geraghty Credit: News Corp Australia Before shutting down questions about Balta, who made his AFL return last weekend, Yze said the club would deal with the ongoing issue of the curfew which could impact his availability for at least four games. 'You go through a case like that and we were prepared he was going to be sanctioned, it was just what they came up with. Dealing with that is part of it,' he said. 'We knew that he was going to be punished and we went through that process yesterday. 'That's one little element to that and we'll have to play around with that and deal with that as a club. But at the same time, we've got to wrap our arms around him and help him through this.' Yze said the club would continue to support Balta who also has to abstain from alcohol as part of his punishment. 'He's really remorseful. He accepted the decision, and now it's about getting him back amongst the group and giving him the opportunity to repay the faith that we've shown in him. 'As I said, it was a tough day yesterday and we'll move on.' Amid suggestions the strict penalty could have been imposed in the wake of Richmond electing to pick Balta at AFL level before his sentencing, the defender said in a club statement he would 'improve myself' and that 'violence is never the answer'. 'I apologise to the victim, my family and friends, and everyone associated with the Richmond Football Club,' he said. 'I have let a lot of people down and the lesson has been learned that violence is never the answer. 'I will continue to work to improve myself to ensure this never happens again.'
