Balta avoids jail time... but sentencing twist means lockout for major Tigers games

Richmond’s Noah Balta has been spared jail time, instead receiving an 18-month community corrections order and a criminal conviction at the Albury Local Court on Tuesday.

It comes after Balta, 25, pled guilty to assault for an incident outside a Mulwala venue last December 30.

The sanctioned CCO includes a night curfew — where he cannot consume alcohol nor leave his house between 10pm and 6am — for three months until July 22, which is set to disrupt Balta’s playing schedule as multiple night and interstate games await on the Tigers’ fixture.

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Richmond plays Melbourne in its annual Anzac Day Eve clash on Thursday night, with the first bounce at 7.30pm (AEST).

The Tigers also play Essendon in Dreamtime at the ‘G from 7.40pm (Round 11, May 23), while they also have a scheduled twilight clash with GWS in Sydney starting at 4.15pm (Round 12, May 31).

Richmond also has four daytime fixtures in the period of his CCO that start at 3.20pm or earlier against Hawthorn (Round 8), West Coast (Round 9), North Melbourne (Round 10) and Sydney (Round 13). The Tigers are also due to play West Coast in Perth in Round 16 — the day and time remain unconfirmed due to the AFL’s floating fixture — before Balta’s curfew expires.

Multiple reports indicated the Tigers could look to challenge the stay-at-home element of his penalty, which Balta’s lawyer pushed back in in court. But the magistrate on Tuesday clearly indicated there’d be no exemption to the curfew, unless he was seeking medical treatment.

Noah Balta's 10pm curfew explained | 02:10

Balta was also fined $3000 and paid his victim $45,000 in a settlement. He is also banned from the Mulwala Ski Club, where the incident took place.

After serving a four-match suspension to begin the year, Balta made his season debut in last Saturday night’s Tigers win over Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium.

The athletic swingman played in the VFL two weekends ago after speculation over whether he’d be brought straight back into the senior side by coach Adem Yze.

He earned his recall at selection last Thursday night, as the divisive decision was met with criticism due to the fact his sentencing hadn’t yet occurred.

Richmond footballer Noah Balta arrives at Albury Court. Picture: David Geraghty Source: News Corp Australia

Balta’s former peer and 2020 premiership teammate Jack Riewoldt said last Saturday: “I think it’s good that Noah Balta played well, but I stand by the fact I don’t think he should’ve played, in the grand scheme of things”.

Two-time premiership player David King emphasised the cultural aspect of Richmond permitting Balta to return before his hearing.

“This is the exact conversation — Richmond has put four points before the cultural discussion we have every three weeks about football clubs; the standards you walk by and standards you accept, those sorts of things,” King told Fox Footy last Saturday night.

'There's no way he should be playing' | 03:47

“They have put this victory before that. They made a business decision, and they get the tick and get the four points. But are there other side effects not yet coming to the surface?”

Balta has played 104 games for the Tigers — including the 2020 premiershop — since being selected with Pick 25 in the 2017 draft. In October last year, he signed a seven-year contract extension that ties him to Richmond until at least the end of the 2032 season.

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