Terry Wallace believes Richmond’s Noah Balta could be anything.
The 20-year-old debuted during the 2019 season and went on to play 13 games for the eventual premiers as a key position player at both ends of the ground, while pinch-hitting in the ruck.
Balta possesses raw athleticism and a mixed bag of tricks, some that don’t always pay off, but if he can connect all the dots, then he could emerge as a quality player for the Tigers, according to Wallace.
“The really interesting one is Noah Balta,” Wallace said on SEN Drive.
“Where he goes and how he plays and whether he can get the whole thing together because his athletic traits are unbelievable. But he’s a little bit all or nothing at the moment, you just don’t know what you are going to get.
“You see this magnificent piece of play from him but then you’ll see him fumble a ball.
“If he can get it all together, he’s athletically gifted to be anything.”
Drive co-host Nathan Templeton feels that Balta may be best deployed in a key defensive position.
“Whether he ends up being a centre-half back. You often see that with those talented, freakishly athletic players, you send them to be a tall defender like a Majak (Daw) for example,” he said.
“That’s often where they end up being best used.”
Wallace also touched on Balta’s young Tiger teammate Sydney Stack who stormed the AFL in his first year at the elite level after being picked up in pre-season.
“Sydney Stack is really interesting as well,” Wallace added.
“Does he finish as the small, carrying defender or does he end up as a forward? He played both roles throughout the year but certainly showed enough.”
Stack put together 17 games in the yellow and black before his first season in the AFL was cut short by an ankle injury.
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