Ex-Sandringham Dragons coach Jeremy Barnard pays tribute to Harley Balic: ‘He always had a smile on his face’

Harley Balic’s former Sandringham Dragons coach Jeremy Barnard remembered him as a “pleasant” young footballer who “always had a smile on his face”. The current East Perth coach, who mentored Balic during his draft year in 2015 before he got picked up by Fremantle, was shocked to hear the news of his tragic passing at just 25 years old. Barnard said the popular former Dockers and Melbourne midfielder/half-forward reminded him of St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt in his early years and had “very high hopes for him” in the AFL. “I was shocked to hear the news yesterday,” Barnard told The West Australian. “We always found Harley a really compliant guy and pleasant guy to coach, he always wanted to learn and didn’t give us any trouble at all. “He always had a smile on his face. He wasn’t an overly outgoing young man but he was still very popular. “Footy-wise he was just hard at the ball and when we first spotted him and started to work with him, he had a lot of Nick Riewoldt attributes. “He was a very high-talented player at that high half-forward and hybrid mid role. We had very high hopes for him and we were very happy for him when he got drafted into the AFL. “It’s a very, very sad loss at such a young age. Those who knew him and have coached him are in a bit of shock at the moment and our deepest sympathies go out to his family.” Balic was one of several players drafted during Barnard’s time at the NAB League powerhouse including Andrew McGrath (Essendon), Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle) and Hamish Brayshaw (ex-West Coast), Tim Taranto (GWS Giants) and Oliver Florent (Sydney). Pick 38 in the 2015 national draft, Balic went on to make four AFL appearances in two seasons at Fremantle and won a WAFL premiership with their affiliate club Peel Thunder in 2016 before he requested a trade home to Victoria at the end of 2017. He was on Melbourne’s list for one year before retiring during the 2018 season.