Only good fortune spared Noah Balta’s victim Thomas Washbrook from serious injury or death

Noah Balta can count himself lucky that he dodged jail, but one can well understand why Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick hit back at the Premier’s comments.

Noah Balta can count himself lucky.

The Richmond defender will miss a few more weeks of footy and has a criminal conviction that will make end-of-season trips to Vegas unlikely, but he dodged jail.

And, for that he should be eternally grateful.

It was only good fortune that spared his victim Thomas Washbrook from serious injury or death and spared Balta from facing charges of grievous bodily harm or manslaughter instead of actual bodily harm.

Noah Balta should be eternally grateful. Picture: David Geraghty

The CCTV footage of the incident is confronting and one can well understand why Premier Jacinta Allan felt the need to weigh in on the issue, slamming the AFL and the Tigers for allowing Balta to play last week.

“How does the AFL and the Richmond Football Club answer that question about what’s going on here?” Ms Allan said.

“What sort of message does this send to kids about what’s right and what’s wrong?”

Ms Allan’s comments would carry more weight if her government wasn’t known for being hopelessly soft on crime and overseeing a surge in criminal offences in the state.

One can well understand why Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick hit back, calling Ms Allan’s comments an “absolute mockery”.

Damien Hardwick hit back at Jacinta Allan’s comments. Picture: David Crosling

Looking at the footage of the assault, it’s clear it was severe, swift and senseless; it was 20 seconds of madness with Balta striking the victim with such force that he was airborne before hitting the ground.

Balta then repeatedly punched the victim in the head and delivered the final blow as Washbrook was kneeling with his arms outstretched to his sides, posing zero threat to Balta or anyone else.

Magistrate Melissa Humphreys sentenced the Tiger to an 18-month community corrections order and imposed various conditions, including a curfew between 10pm and 6am until July 22, 2025.

“Violence in the community must be denounced, and denounced adequately by the courts,” she said.

Balta has a criminal conviction but has dodged jail. Picture: David Geraghty

The curfew will mean Balta is unable to travel interstate or play night games unless he dashes back home at half time.

Magistrate Humphreys should be applauded for not bending over backwards to accommodate a footy star.

She could have jailed him for up to five years, but showed sensible leniency.

In the end, a few months of abiding by a curfew is a small price to pay for 20 seconds of madness.