Neil Balme is Richmond’s first Homecoming Hero for the 2023 season.

The Tigers are going to pay tribute to Balme in the lead-up to Thursday night’s blockbuster season-opener against Carlton at the MCG.

Balme will walk to the Punt Road end of the ground, where he’ll receive the plaudits of the Tiger Army.

He’ll kick a ceremonial goal, then sign the football and present it to a Richmond fan in the crowd.

Highlights of Balme’s illustrious playing career with the Tigers also will be shown on the MCG’s big screens.

Neil Balme was recruited by Richmond from WAFL club Subiaco, where he had shown some impressive signs at senior level as a 16-year-old ruckman.

He initially played under-19s football at Tigerland under the guidance of renowned junior coach Ray ‘Slug’ Jordon and was a member of their premiership team that year.

The following year, Balme made his senior debut with the Tigers in their Round 20 match against North Melbourne at Arden Street and kicked four goals playing as a key forward.

Balme played in the Richmond reserves side losing grand final side of 1970, but after that he became a permanent, important fixture in the senior line-up, firstly as a powerful, big forward and later as a skilful ruckman.

A handy return of 28 goals in 1971 was followed by what was Balme’s league football career-high total of 55 goals in 1972, when the Tigers finished runners-up to Carlton.

He kicked a team-high five goals in the ’72 Grand Final and shared Richmond’s leading goalkicker award that season with his rugged forward teammate Ricky McLean.

In 1973, when the Tigers gained sweet revenge for their shock Grand Final loss to the Blues the previous year, decisively defeating them in the premiership-decider, Balme took out the Club’s leading goalkicker award with 34 goals.

Balme was a strong contributor in the Tigers’ 1973 Grand Final triumph with two goals (2.4). But it was his performance the week before in the preliminary final against Collingwood that ensured Richmond made it through to the “big dance”.

Although Richmond’s remarkable comeback victory over the Magpies in the ’73 preliminary final (after trailing by 45 points late in the second quarter and 36 points at half-time) is best remembered for injured captain Royce Hart’s inspirational efforts when he was brought on to the ground for the second half (he’d spent the first half on the bench), it was Balme’s five-goal display that was pivotal to the Tigers advancing through to the Grand Final.

A year later, when Richmond made it back-to-back flags, Balme was one of the team’s best players in the ’74 Grand Final win against North Melbourne, sharing the ruck duties with Michael Green and kicking two goals.

Neil Balme’s playing career with Richmond is commonly remembered for the fear that he struck in the hearts and minds of opposition defenders due to his robust, raw aggression.

But to focus merely on the physical side of Balme’s game would be doing a gross injustice to him.

He was a highly-skilled player . . . an excellent mark, a thumping, long kick (magnificent exponent of the torpedo punt, in particular), and mobile for his size.

Balme also was a big-occasion specialist, thriving on the cut and thrust of Richmond’s major home-and-away games and finals.

During his time up forward with the Tigers, the most goals he scored in a game was six, which he managed three times. And, all-up, he kicked four goals or more in a match on 20 occasions.

The most marks he took in a match for Richmond was 10, which he achieved five times, and the most disposals he had in a game was 34 (16 kicks, 18 handballs) against North Melbourne in the 1977 first semi-final at Waverley Park.

That 1977 season was Balme’s best from an individual perspective at Tigerland.

He averaged 19.9 disposals per game for the season, polled a career-high 10 Brownlow Medal votes and finished runner-up in the Jack Dyer Medal.

Balme played his final game of league football in Round 13 of the 1979 season against Carlton at Princes Park. He was forced into a premature retirement at 27 years of age because of a chronic knee complaint.

Notwithstanding that early end to his playing career with Richmond, he had provided the Club with first-class service over the course of a decade.

Richmond is proud to have welcomed back Motorola as partner of our 2023 Homecoming Heroes. Motorola was recently announced as the official smartphone partner of the Richmond Football Club.

Neil Balme playing profile

Born: January 15, 1952

Height: 194cm

Playing weight: 96kg

Recruited to Richmond from: Subiaco (WA)

Guernsey number at Richmond: No. 21

Games at Richmond (1970-79): 159

Goals at Richmond: 229

Playing honours at Richmond: Dual premiership player (1973-74), two-time winner of the Club’s leading goalkicker award (equal in 1972 with 55 goals and 1973 with 34 goals), life member in 1979, Hall of Fame inductee in 2010.

Below is a list of Richmond's Homecoming Heroes since its inception in 2014...