Richmond young guns Liam Baker and Noah Balta have been rewarded for their consistent 2020 home-and-away seasons with selection in the AFL Players' Association's 22Under22 team.
Baker has cemented his spot in the Tigers' line-up as a small defender in 2020, maintaining a high level of performance after playing 19 senior games in 2019, including Richmond's Grand Final win over GWS.
Richmond vice-captain Jack Riewoldt recently encapsulated the thoughts of many Yellow and Black barrackers with his comments about Baker during a post-game interview on Channel Seven following the Round 17 win over Geelong.
“My favourite player is Liam Baker,” Riewoldt said.
“I love him just because I watch him run back in front of ‘Tomahawk’ (Geelong's Tom Hawkins) . . . that’s why we love him as a teammate.”
After earning senior selection in the Round 5 win over Melbourne, key defender Balta has not missed a game since and been a key pillar of the Tigers defence with just 26 games of senior AFL football to his name.
Riewoldt also provided an interesting insight into the 20-year-old’s football growth following the win over Geelong.
“He’s really gifted,” Riewoldt said.
“A year ago, we couldn’t find a spot for him . . . we were trying to play him up forward, we were playing him in the ruck. And then, probably out of necessity, he’s ended up playing back, with Dave Astbury going down, as our big, key back down there.
“He’s turned into a fantastic listener. The mental side of the game is where he’s really improved.
“Physically, he’s always been gifted. He’s got a lot of Alex Rance traits . . . Obviously, ‘Rancey’ was a fantastic player, and if Noah can be half the player Alex was, he’ll be a fantastic player for this football club.
“But his willingness to learn is the one thing that I love about him the most. I try and teach those young key-position players how to play, as a sort of older player, and he’s always listening. And he’s got some great role models down back as well with ‘Grimesy’, Dave Astbury and Nick Vlastuin.”
To be eligible for selection, players must be aged 22 years or under for the entirety of the season, including the finals series, and have played a minimum of eight games.
Liam Baker, Richmond. 16 games in 2020. 132 kicks, 62 marks, 112 handballs averaging 8.3 kicks, 3.9 marks, 7.0 handballs. 7 clearances, 19 inside 50m, 42 rebound 50m. 32 tackles.
Noah Balta, Richmond. 13 games in 2020. 97 kicks, 55 marks, 46 handballs averaging 11.0 disposals, 4.0 spoils, 2.3 intercept marks. 7 Inside 50m, 43 Rebound 50m. 12 tackles.
