39 Facts About Noah Balta

Noah Balta was born on 23 October 1999 and is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Noah Balta was drafted by Richmond with the 25th pick in the 2017 AFL national draft and made his debut for the club in round 1 of the 2019 season.

Noah Balta was a junior soccer player at St Albans Dinamo and the Melbourne Knights.

Noah Balta participated in the Auskick program at St Bernard's College Essendon before playing at under 10 level with the Essendon Doutta Stars Football Club in the junior ranks of the Essendon District Football League.

In 2014, Noah Balta began training with the Calder Cannons junior development squad and in 2015 he played alongside fellow future AFL player Cam Rayner in an EDFL under 16s premiership with the Doutta Stars.

Noah Balta returned to TAC Cup football with Calder in 2017, playing primarily as a key forward.

In June and July of that year Noah Balta stepped away from state junior football to represent Vic Metro at the 2017 AFL Under 18 Championships where he was part of the tournament-winning side.

Noah Balta finished the season by kicking multiple goals in four of his final eight matches despite being trialed in defence and the midfield during the closing stages of the season.

Noah Balta attended and played football for St Bernard College in Essendon, where he was part of the Herald Sun Shield-winning team in 2017.

Noah Balta ran the two kilometre time trial in six minutes and 50 seconds and recorded a 8.38 on the agility test.

Noah Balta was drafted by Richmond with the club's third pick and the 25th selection overall in the 2017 AFL national draft.

Noah Balta spent the early stages of his first pre-season training as a forward, but did so on a highly limited program due to general soreness.

Noah Balta made his first appearance for Richmond when he represented the club in a series of AFLX exhibition matches in Sydney in February 2018.

Noah Balta spent his second pre-season training as a forward and ruck and showed progress by kicking two goals in an intra-club practice in late February 2019.

Noah Balta followed that up with one more goal in the club's final pre-season match before earning a senior AFL debut in the season-opening match against Carlton at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

In that same match, All-Australian defender Alex Rance suffered a season-ending knee injury, leaving Noah Balta considered as an option to replace him in the Richmond backline despite debuting as a forward.

Noah Balta was passed over for the role in round 2, but was selected to play in it in round 3 after playing as a defender in the VFL the previous week.

Noah Balta had a then-career best 13 disposals in round 8, forced into the role of lead ruck when Toby Nankervis went down injured midway through that win over Fremantle.

Noah Balta bested that mark with 14 disposals against Hawthorn in round 9 in which he was named among Richmond's best players by The Age.

Noah Balta remained in the senior side through the mid-season bye including in round 13, when he shared lead ruck duties with Mabior Chol in his side's loss to Adelaide.

Noah Balta suffered another corked thigh during that match, seeing him miss the club's first VFL final, before returning with 12 disposals in a VFL preliminary final win over Port Melbourne.

Noah Balta took part in AFL grand final festivities the following week, participating in and making the final of the league's Grand Final sprint.

Noah Balta finished 2019 having debuted and played 13 matches at AFL level, while winning a VFL premiership after nine matches with the club's reserves side.

Noah Balta assumed the role left by the off-season retirement of fellow key-defender Alex Rance in the first match of the pre-season series, but was relegated to reserves level in favour of a small backline for the remainder of the series.

Noah Balta played just one VFL practice match however, after the balance of the pre-season was cancelled due to safety concerns as a result of the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia.

Noah Balta took part in unofficial scratch matches against opposition reserves players when the season resumed 11 weeks later, owing to the cancellation of the VFL competition.

Noah Balta kept North Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney forwards Ben Brown and Jeremy Cameron goalless during matchups over the month that followed, including after a virus outbreak in Melbourne forced the club to relocate to the Gold Coast.

Noah Balta was equal-second-best on ground in round 9, earning four coaches votes for equal-game-high tallies in rebound-50s and intercepts in a performance that had Hardwick publicly comparing him to former teammate and multi-time All-Australian Alex Rance.

Noah Balta's next starring performance came in round 14, where he earned an equal-best on ground nine-coaches votes for a performance including 11 marks, nine intercepts and a match-sealing goal from outside 50.

Noah Balta held his spot when Astbury finally returned from injury in the season-closing round 18 win over Adelaide and was rewarded for his breakout season with selection the AFL Players Association's 22Under22 team which recognises the best young players in the league.

Noah Balta was equally quiet in a semi-final win over St Kilda, but was among his side's best in the preliminary final win over Port Adelaide, where according to AFL Media he "completely dominated" opposition forward Charlie Dixon while keeping him to just one goal.

Noah Balta became a premiership player one week later, helping his side to a 31-point grand final victory over Geelong.

Noah Balta is notable for his physical attributes, possessing great athletic abilities, including running power and a high leap.

Noah Balta played his junior years and early AFL matches as a swingman, rotating between roles as a key defender, key forward and ruck.

Noah Balta's parents were both born in Australia but each is of Croatian heritage, with ties to the Split and Vukovar regions.

Noah Balta's father Ivan is an electrician by trade and in 2019 served as the assistant secretary of the Electrical Trades Union of Australia.

Outside of football, Noah Balta studied for a certificate in carpentry.

In December 2024, Noah Balta was charged with assault after assaulting a man outside a pub in Mulwala, New South Wales, to which he plead guilty.

Noah Balta was stood down by Richmond for four matches after being charged.