https://amp.abc.net.au/article/105099568

How does this 10pm curfew affect him playing on Thursday night?

2 minutes ago, Ghostwriter said:

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/105099568

How does this 10pm curfew affect him playing on Thursday night?

yep he is not playing thursday night

already covered in the pre-game thread

it means he's ineligible for selection for any night or interstate games for the next three months

Mods, feel free to delete this thread 👍🏽

8 minutes ago, Ghostwriter said:

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/105099568

How does this 10pm curfew affect him playing on Thursday night?

There will probably be an exemption between the AFL and the courts to allow him to play because he's plying his trade.

The AFL have shown absolutely no regard to the seriousness of the assault it would seem.

should have got the chair

23 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

There will probably be an exemption between the AFL and the courts to allow him to play because he's plying his trade.

The AFL have shown absolutely no regard to the seriousness of the assault it would seem.

It says in the article that he asked for an exemption and was denied.

Magistrate Humphrey told the court the curfew was a punitive element and said Balta would be required to make changes to his employment to fit the sentence. 

Clever sentence from the Magistrate. More punitive than it might initially seem by deliberately stopping him from playing in some games. I don't know whether it can be appealed, but he'd be risking a heavier option if he tried.

11 minutes ago, Nasher said:

It says in the article that he asked for an exemption and was denied.

She was pretty direct - “too bad”

I wonder how is curfew relates to games in Victoria given he was sentenced in NSW?

1 minute ago, Jibroni said:

I wonder how is curfew relates to games in Victoria given he was sentenced in NSW?

X

Sshhhh….!!

1 minute ago, Jibroni said:

I wonder how is curfew relates to games in Victoria given he was sentenced in NSW?

He has to be at his home address by 10pm.

Also means no dreamtime at the G

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

There will probably be an exemption between the AFL and the courts to allow him to play because he's plying his trade.

The AFL have shown absolutely no regard to the seriousness of the assault it would seem.

1 hour ago, Nasher said:

It says in the article that he asked for an exemption and was denied.

I guess he can still ply his trade by playing VFL.

The FACTS

Mr Washbrook was waiting for a courtesy bus at the club when he tried to intervene in an altercation between another man and Balta's younger brother Oskar. The court was told Balta saw Mr Washbrook touch his brother on the shoulder and felt a need to defend him.

CCTV footage shown to the court showed Balta shoulder charge the victim before punching him several times in the head.

Balta punched Mr Washbrook several more times, with the assistance of his brother, who has also been convicted of assault.

Balta turned himself in to police two days later on New Year's Day.

THE SENTENCE

Balta was sentenced at Albury Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to repeatedly punching Thomas Washbrook, 27, outside the Mulwala Water Ski Club, in the NSW Riverina, on December 30.

He was fined $3000, given an 18-month community corrections order and assigned a curfew, restricting him to his home address between 10pm and 6am until July.

In sentencing Balta, Magistrate Melissa Humphreys said the attack was at the higher end of the medium threshold and disagreed there was a risk of death beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment in NSW.

—-———————————-

opinion

• BALTA PLEADED GUILTY

• THE VIDEO OFF CCTV WAS DAMNING

• BALTA got off very very lightly

• BALTA’s assault was severe and serious.

• A 6-month suspended jail sentence was warranted

• The $3000 fine was far too low … $50,000 would have been the bare minimum

• This hardly penalizes a KING HIT OFFENDER

• JUSTICE IS NOT SERVED

Balta may still play to half time and then get subbed out.

2 hours ago, Jibroni said:

I wonder how is curfew relates to games in Victoria given he was sentenced in NSW?

the afl is a national game, not a victorian game

2 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

the afl is a national game, not a victorian game

Tony Mokbel had the same idea, just buy a rug and nobody will notice.

Edited April 22, 2025Apr 22 by bluey
Rethink

He’ll miss two games max assuming that neither the AFL, nor the club apply any penalties

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

The FACTS

Mr Washbrook was waiting for a courtesy bus at the club when he tried to intervene in an altercation between another man and Balta's younger brother Oskar. The court was told Balta saw Mr Washbrook touch his brother on the shoulder and felt a need to defend him.

CCTV footage shown to the court showed Balta shoulder charge the victim before punching him several times in the head.

Balta punched Mr Washbrook several more times, with the assistance of his brother, who has also been convicted of assault.

Balta turned himself in to police two days later on New Year's Day.

THE SENTENCE

Balta was sentenced at Albury Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to repeatedly punching Thomas Washbrook, 27, outside the Mulwala Water Ski Club, in the NSW Riverina, on December 30.

He was fined $3000, given an 18-month community corrections order and assigned a curfew, restricting him to his home address between 10pm and 6am until July.

In sentencing Balta, Magistrate Melissa Humphreys said the attack was at the higher end of the medium threshold and disagreed there was a risk of death beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment in NSW.

—-———————————-

opinion

• BALTA PLEADED GUILTY

• THE VIDEO OFF CCTV WAS DAMNING

• BALTA got off very very lightly

• BALTA’s assault was severe and serious.

• A 6-month suspended jail sentence was warranted

• The $3000 fine was far too low … $50,000 would have been the bare minimum

• This hardly penalizes a KING HIT OFFENDER

• JUSTICE IS NOT SERVED

he has also paid the victim $45,000 but i think that might have been voluntary before sentencing

20 minutes ago, hardtack said:

He’ll miss two games max assuming that neither the AFL, nor the club apply any penalties

could be more, ht. afl haven't released schedule for a period near the end of curfew period. apparently at least 1 more game interstate

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

• This hardly penalizes a KING HIT OFFENDER

Let’s call it by its right name…

A COWARD’S PUNCH

37 minutes ago, bluey said:

Balta may still play to half time and then get subbed out.

Good on R’mond if they do that! Lose a player through injury in the first half, and play the second half with only three on the bench.

At about $400 a pop, I reckon you could develop a good market for punching people in the head.

Delivering personalised custom options or catering to events. Ooh, you could set up syndication tickets and annual subscriptions!

Maybe I'm just bitter. All those school years of random attacks with no consequences, and then I put one guy on his [censored] and it's like I invaded Poland.

I wonder how many kids Balta bashed at school?

The sentence does seem really light on given the seriousness of the assault. I'm not sure what an appropriate penalty looks like but I think he is lucky to avoid jail.

As for the curfew it seems an overreach from the judge for him to not be granted an exemption to attend work. The point of a curfew is for him to keep out of trouble and if he's playing football on national television there is a good chance he will keep out of trouble. Assuming the judge had limited options re sentencing and so threw in the curfew to bump it up a bit.

In any case I reckon he would be relieved at avoiding jail.