Noah Balta has regained his spot in the Richmond best 23 after a wee spot of bother with the constabulary. Putting that swiftly behind us, we now find him playing a ruck/forward role for at least one more week, as Toby Nankervis is not quite fully recovered from his long-term hamstring injury. The current Tiger list is in full rebuild mode so Balta is being bolted in to wherever there is a screw loose in the team structure, and the jalopy has been downright wonky this season with a disgustingly long injury list. When (if) all are fit, he probably returns to full back.
Noah Balta has regained his spot in the Richmond best 23 after a wee spot of bother with the constabulary. Putting that swiftly behind us, we now find him playing a ruck/forward role for at least one more week, as Toby Nankervis is not quite fully recovered from his long-term hamstring injury. The current Tiger list is in full rebuild mode so Balta is being bolted in to wherever there is a screw loose in the team structure, and the jalopy has been downright wonky this season with a disgustingly long injury list. When (if) all are fit, he probably returns to full back.
Noah Balta has the capability to be one of the best players in the game, but his fate has been to rise to his full powers playing at Richmond which is in the early stages of a full rebuild following its triple-flag run. In a good team, his ceiling could be Joe Daniher, Harris Andrews or Luke Ryan. As it is, he is swung back or forward depending on where the biggest holes are in Richmond's depleted spine. As the team grows in age and experience around him his best game will resurface, but for now his role is not settled at all and it's hard to justify using him.
Balta does his dash
Richmond decided to go with a more traditional key forward set up in 2019 which gave Noah Balta the opportunity to play senior footy as third forward interchanging in ruck. His output in this role was minimal, and he was eventually replaced by Ivan Soldo on the run to the flag. Balta was never going to be a consistent fantasy player as his floor is too low to offset any increases in his ceiling. He is an impact player in the style of Shaun McKernan, and as such is hard to justify starting every week even if he does make it back to the ones.
No bolter
Playing ruck, forward and back in the VFL - sometimes all three in one game - Noah Balta's statistical output in his first listed season was consequently spotty. He broke a fantasy score of 80 once when he booted three goals, and had four sub-40 days. Balta's role when he makes the seniors is going to be dictated by team need, not what produces the best fantasy scores for him personally. The only chance for his relevance is if it looks like he'll play a traditional third forward role supporting in ruck. It's a longshot.
Steeplechase for Balta
Used in defence, attack and ruck at stages in his final junior year, Noah Balta averaged 15 disposals at TAC Cup level and nine at the Championships. Recruiters were looking at Balta as a key defensive prospect, which means he is likely to be settled into that role at VFL level.
