Noah is happy to have a wide arc

NOAH Balta doesn’t know exactly what he is as a footballer but will be whatever coach Damien Hardwick wants him to be.

Richmond’s 194cm swingman has settled in defence in the past fortnight with strong results after the Tigers partnered him up forward with Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt to start the season.

With Lynch leading the Coleman Medal and Riewoldt moving into 18th place for alltime goals, Hardwick said after Saturday’s defeat of Collingwood that he planned to keep Balta as a defender.

The numbers suggest that’s the right call, with Balta – who also performed back-up ruck duties while Ivan Soldo was out between rounds 4 to 6 – one of the AFL’s best interceptors.

The 22year-old’s switch to defence, where he was a key cog in the 2020 premiership, has seen him average 4.5 intercept marks, eight marks and 450m gained, which all rate elite.

“I think I’m just used to (defence),” Balta said. “I did the pre-season in the forward line but I think I’ll let Lynch and Riewoldt do that for now. It’s just up to Dimma – whatever he thinks. It literally depends who we come up against. If there’s a tall backline, I’m usually back, but if they’ve got a small backline, I could go back to being a forward.”

Balta enjoys the unpredictability rather than being frustrated by it, admitting the jolt of a positional move maintained his focus.

“When I go back for too long – Dimma will always speak about this – sometimes my mindset drags away from the process of what I need to do,” he said. “Then when I get flicked forward, I’m like, ‘OK, what do I have to do now?’ ”