An emotional St Kilda coach Ross Lyon outlined the personal relationship he had with Harley Balic, whom he labelled a “special young man”, as the former Fremantle and Melbourne player’s death has become the focus of an investigation into the AFL’s illicit drugs policy.
Balic, who died aged just 25 after a long battle with drug addiction, played his four AFL games at Fremantle when Lyon was coach of the Dockers and the pair spent a lot of “one-on-one” time together.
Lyon said that experience with Balic ensured he understood the one-time junior star’s battles “deeply” and that he clearly needed “support and medical attention”.
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That level of support, as delivered by the illicit drug policy’s “medical model”, has come under close scrutiny, with Balic’s father, Eddie, telling the Herald Sun that the lack of information available to the family at the time prevented their full understanding of their son’s battles.
“The huge disappointment is that the AFL knew a lot and as a family we weren’t told. We may have saved him earlier,” Eddie said.
The AFL has declared that, while being reviewed, the illicit drugs policy, which tests players independently of Sport Integrity Australia and puts players who test positive to substances in the medical model, remained the best practice.
That’s despite worldwide condemnation that it allows players to continue to take drugs without penalty.
Speaking on Wednesday, Lyon was loathe to delve too deeply into whether that policy was best fit but said the Balic situation was a tragic one that he lived with.
“I was Fremantle coach at the time. I was, and I think the Balic family well tell you, particularly his mum, I was very close to Harley, I had a personal relationship,” Lyon said.
“I spent a lot of time one-on-one with Harley. I understand it deeply.
“It’s not for me to dive into it. What I will say, I’m not even sure what I will say, if the AFL illicit policy is really about that medical model. My experience and what Harley shared with me, he clearly sat in where he needed support and medical attention.
“I have no visibility on what occurs behind the scenes but you make that judgment that that occurred. Who wants to lose a son, a daughter, it’s very emotional talking about him. I think I’ll leave it there.
“He was a pretty special young man.”
Lyon said “I haven’t got the answer” when it came to the best policy for policing and dealing with illicit drug use among players.
But he also said the AFL and clubs should not have to shoulder all the responsibility.
“With my parenting, I’m not looking for any organisation to take care of my kids,” he said.
Revelations in comments released on Wednesday that will form part of the SIA review include an allegation that Balic witnessed footballers using drugs when he joined the Dockers as a teenager, drafted from Victoria.
His playing career stalled amid his personal issues before he moved to Melbourne, where he failed to play a senior game, before retiring in 2018.
