Although Neil Balme was more than just a ruthless player, that’s how most people remember him. He’s an incredible key striker who used his body to good effect and had strong counter power, proving to be a great ruckman.
After leaving Mount Pleasant Amateurs, Balme played junior football for Wembley Athletic Club before moving to Subiaco of the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) in 1968.
With a good effort in the ruck against future Australian Football Hall of Famer Graham “Polly” Farmer in a game against West Perth Football Club aged just 16, Balme made a lasting impact .
Neil and his family moved to Melbourne in January 1969. He was persuaded to sign for Richmond soon after, joining older brother Ian Balme. Balme remained at Norwood for eleven seasons; his team never missed the league game.
They secured premierships in 1982 and 1984, garnering praise from Balme and numerous requests to return to Victoria and coach. One of the contenders for his abilities was Richmond. But Balme believed that due to the emphasis on the negative and the violent, the game was stagnating in its native nature.
Balme promoted a fast, open, and skillful passing style because he believed that would be the future of the game. His tenacity with a tactical, high-possession, low-impact playing strategy drew admiration and scorn . When fashion was successful, it was seductive and difficult to match.
In 1994, Melbourne qualified for the preliminary final before faltering. However, some of Melbourne’s dismal performance after 1995 can be attributed to injuries suffered by stars like Garry Lyon, David Schwarz and Stephen Tingay.
Balme was sympathetic to the media due to his calm and approachable manner and his insistence on empowering players, but some questioned whether he was qualified to serve as an AFL coach.
The dispute over the club’s 1996 plan to combine with Hawthorn Football Club caught Balme and his players off guard. Balme was fired by controversial new Demons president Joe Gutnick after Round 9 and eight straight losses due to the team’s decline and several embarrassing performances in 1997. For the rest of the year, Greg Hutchinson was took his place.
