‘Damien Hardwick is totally incorrect’; Jeff Kennett defends Jacinta Allan in Noah Balta row

Jeff Kennett sides with Jacinta Allan in row with AFL coach Damien Hardwick over Noah Balta situation, in an unprecedented show of support for the Labor Premier.

Jeff Kennett has weighed in to back Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan in her stoush with AFL coach Damien Hardwick over Noah Balta.

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Jeff Kennett has sided with Jacinta Allan in the unfolding stoush with AFL coach Damien Hardwick over her strong criticism of playing Noah Balta before his sentencing over a serious assault.

In an extraordinary intervention in the row between the Premier and the premiership coach, the former Victorian Liberal leader and Hawthorn Football Club president launched a strong defence of Ms Allan.

Mr Kennett said he was “troubled” by Hardwick’s broadside at Ms Allan over her comments about Balta playing last weekend, branding the current Suns and former Richmond coach as “totally incorrect”.

“Jacinta Allan’s comments I think reflected the views of the vast majority of Victorians and were totally in order, and Damien Hardwick, I recognise his right to issue comment, but I think he is ­totally incorrect in what he said,” Mr Kennett told The Australian.

“Premier Allan was correct in making her comments and Damien Hardwick, he has a right to voice his opinion, but is therefore entitled to be held to account.

“If he thinks that sort of behaviour does not justify leaders in our community condemning it, then I think his value system is wrong, however great his friendship is with Balta.

“And that is coming from me, who very rarely, if ever, has sided with Jacinta.”

The Hardwick-Allan row – a rare eruption of tensions between a Victorian political leader and an AFL coach – was triggered by Richmond’s decision to play Balta, whom Hardwick coached to a premiership with the Tigers in 2020, against the Suns last weekend.

Balta had served a four-week, club-imposed ban after pleading guilty to assaulting a man in the NSW border town of Mulwala in December, but he was not sentenced in court until Tuesday.

A NSW magistrate fined Balta $3000, imposed an 18-month community corrections order, a three-month 10pm to 6am curfew and an interstate travel ban, meaning he will miss multiple AFL games.

When asked at a press conference last week about the decision to select Balta, Ms Allan demanded to know how the AFL and Richmond would explain to children that Balta was playing before his sentencing for what she called a “sickening attack” and added: “What sort of message does this send to kids about what’s right and what’s wrong? I think that’s really a question for the AFL and Richmond need to answer.”

CCTV of Noah Balta assaulting a man outside a Mulwala club. Picture: Supplied.

After the Suns lost to Richmond by 11 points on Saturday, Hardwick blasted Ms Allan, saying: “We’ve got a premier that put her nose in somebody else’s business, she should just concentrate on getting the state running well.”

He doubled down on his criticism of the Premier at a press conference on Wednesday, question­ing her ability to fix the youth crime wave plaguing Victoria.

“It’s more just I want (Ms Allan) to be tough on crime,” he said.

“Noah got his fair whack, he made a really poor decision. He understood that, and he knows that. What we need to do in society is be harsh on crime. I still stand by that, I always will. It’s accountability and its responsibility. I’m really hard on crime, and that’s exactly what I want our premiers, and our political parties, to do.

“Less talk, more action … Magistrates, premiers, less talking, less chest-beating, more getting to work and getting it done.”

Responding to Mr Kennett’s comments, Gold Coast Suns chief executive Mark Evans said: “Jeff’s entitled to his views and to make comment. We won’t be commenting further.”

Mr Kennett said Hardwick’s doubling down of his criticism of Ms Allan had motivated him to offer the Labor Premier public support. He said he was surprised the AFL had not backed her.

“I have been troubled since Damien Hardwick made his comments – give him his right, he can make his comments – but I have been troubled by them,” he said.

“And because he has now ­doubled down on them, I’m doubly troubled, because as much as I have very little in common with the current government, and in particular their law and order policies, the reality is, when Jacinta was asked the question, of course she was going to say what most Victorians would have thought.

Noah Balta playing last weekend. Picture: Michael Klein

“That was totally unacceptable behaviour by Noah, and also that whether you agree or not with her politics, she has been saying for a long time that she’s against crime and all these sorts of things.

“So what she said is consistent with what she has been verbalising, even though the actions of her government have not addressed the real problems. What was she going to say? No comment, or this is up to the AFL … Of course not.”

Mr Kennett said he believed most Victorians were appalled by Balta’s assault and the “AFL, coaches and players were not above common decency and should be held to account when they cross the line”.

“Any physical assault on anyone is unacceptable; we are trying to educate our children at school to behave better, so the footage of that (attack) was frightening, absolutely frightening, and unacceptable by any standards, and there has to be consequences,” he said.

“We’re all bound by the same rules of decency and behaviour, and if you break those rules, there are consequences.”

Mr Kennett described Balta, a Richmond defender, as the “luckiest man alive”, saying he should be grateful the victim was not more seriously injured and he was not serving a prison sentence.

“Had the victim had his neck broken, or worse, Noah wouldn’t be playing football for the rest of his life,” he said.