Name: Noah Balta
Position: Key defender
Club: Calder Cannons/Vic Metro
DOB: 23-10-1999
Height: 194cm
Weight: 92kg
Draft range: 10-20

Summary: Blessed with freakish athletic ability, Balta is an interesting prospect with an enormous ceiling but question marks linger over his best position.

Strengths:

  • Round 1 ready
  • Strength
  • Versatility
  • Speed
  • Agility
  • Leap
  • Size

Weaknesses:

  • Consistency
  • No clear best position

Overall

In every draft, there is one outstanding athlete. Noah Balta is this year's edition.

The only physical attribute Balta perhaps needs to work on is his endurance, but having recorded a beep of 13.4, he is certainly no slouch.

Throughout his junior career, Balta has occupied key posts in attack, defence and the ruck for the Calder Cannons and Vic Metro. While this versatility may be seen as an asset for many recruiters, it is this uncertainty which will also be a concern.

Balta's unique physical blend makes him the perfect modern midfielder, but doubts about his ability to find the ball and a tendency to go missing keep him from breaking into this year's top 10. He is undersized for a full-time AFL ruckman (even if he makes up for it with his leap) and spent much of his junior days in the forward line with varying success.

But it was in defence where he thrived for Vic Metro in the Under-18 championships. It would seem a waste to pigeon-hole someone of Balta's athletic prowess in defence, but if a club backs themselves to get the most out of him wherever he plays, he will undeniably be an asset to them.