http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-08-02/balic-announces-retirement

Effectively immediately.

Football is just not for everyone.

Good luck Harley.

Well this came out of nowhere.

Best of luck in the future Harley!

Immediately apparently....

Wow

I wish him all the best. Seemd to have some good skills and talent. Maybe the grind was not for him....

This will sound really shallow, but I follow him on Instagram and he just came across as a strange unit.

I don't know why, but I would have put money on him not playing a game. In the end he didn't cost us much so no great loss.

I just hope he finds something outside of football that he will enjoy.

Wish him all the best for the future. Good on him for having the courage to make such a big decision and to look after himself. 

Good luck to him. 

No point at his age to hate what you do. He has years of doing a crappy job to pay the bills ahead of him ?

My bet is that he was told that he will be delisted and given the option to play out at Casey for some success, but decided instead that it was best to just pull the pin.

Have heard that he's had stern talking to over the year over his professionalism and application off field.

Wow. At the start of the year I thought he would be a smokey to make it into the team and add something. Best of luck to him in the future.

Didn't see that coming.

Its not for everyone, all the best in whatever he decides to pursue in life.

Good on him for making a tough call. His opportunity to play league footy can now be opened up to someone who really wants it.

I hope he finds what he is looking for out there.

Yep, if you don't really want it as a professional sportsman it's unlikely to happen anyway. Best of luck to Harley for whatever he does next.

“Not everybody makes it”

Keith Richards 1973

That's a shame but gutsy call by the lad. Wish him well.

If not pushed, which i suspect, poor form on the eve of Casey's finals campaign. Let down Freo now us. Frees up a spot. No loss.

It takes courage sometimes to make that sort of call especially on the eve of VFL finals.

Thanks Harley for giving it a go, and for your contributions to Casey this year.  You have played a part in their success so far.

24 minutes ago, martin said:

If not pushed, which i suspect, poor form on the eve of Casey's finals campaign. Let down Freo now us. Frees up a spot. No loss.

That is a bit harsh, you have no idea what his state of mind could be.

1 minute ago, drysdale demon said:

That is a bit harsh, you have no idea what his state of mind could be.

Neither do u.Article makes no reference to state of mind other that he's just had enough. Not surprised. 

7 minutes ago, martin said:

Neither do u.Article makes no reference to state of mind other that he's just had enough. Not surprised. 

How much did you read?

It clearly states he has spoken out about mental health issues.

37 minutes ago, martin said:

If not pushed, which i suspect, poor form on the eve of Casey's finals campaign. Let down Freo now us. Frees up a spot. No loss.

He hasn’t let anyone down Martin. He gave it a shot, better luck in his next career. 

It's great that Harley opted to retire if football had become a 'grind' and his investment in the Club was less than the 100% required.  Win / Win.  Thanks Harley and good luck with whatever lies ahead.

It’s a bummer was looking to hopefully seeing his skill, but he has to do what is best for him, I suspect he may have some deep off field issues? It would explain why he hasn’t been in the Casey team the last 3 weeks?

At his age retiring well l don't blame him it is in a pressure cooker that he jumped into and now he wants out. If you ain't a competitive beast then you are not cut out to be part of it.  You can glory hunt in lower grades and enjoy yourself playing the game. Easy Peasy.

I believe you would have made it however you didn't think it is a privilege to play AFL. As Sam Newman says, OH WELL.

Good luck and have a nice life.