Why the Hayden Ballantyne mentality lives on through fellow Peel turned Fremantle Dockers forward Josh Treacy

Hayden Ballantyne wants to make it official: He is the No. 1 ticket holder in the Josh Treacy fan club. “I’ll go on the record as saying Josh Treacy is my favourite player,” Ballantyne said. “He just runs in straight lines. Great to watch. Takes a big mark and goes back and kicks a big goal.” Ballantyne retired at the end of the 2019 season after kicking 254 goals across 171 games for the Dockers. He won the AFL’s goal of the year award in 2011 – a three-possession play on the run against Geelong – and also made a name for himself as the Dockers’ chief antagoniser and a target for opposition fans. And that’s just the way he liked it. At 175cm, he might be 20cm shorter than Treacy, but sees a bit of himself in the Dockers’ key forward. He recalls watching Treacy unleash havoc in the WAFL for Peel in 2021. “He kicked five goals that day, so he played well, but I remember a tackle he made on the boundary line… it showed he has that mentality that if you are in the way, then I am coming through you,” Ballantyne said. “I was a bit smaller than him, but that was the mentality I had as well, but the difference is he has got the body to actually go through with it.” Treacy, 22, is coming off a 45.15 season, and at 71.4 per cent was ranked third for shot at goal accuracy. Ballantyne said Treacy’s set-shot set-up and goalkicking action reminded him of former Fremantle captain and six-time Doig medallist Matthew Pavlich. “He is a phenomenal kick at goal, even from outside 50 metres,” Ballantyne said of Treacy. “They are slightly different in the way the play, but the way he kicks it is a lot like Pav, so smooth in his action.” The Dockers finished last year with four losses, sliding from third to 10th, with Treacy, captain Alex Pearce and ruck Sean Darcy sidelined. A member of Fremantle’s losing grand final side in 2013, Ballantyne believes his old team has the quality, depth and forward line potency to go all the way this season and claim their first AFL premiership. He describes Shai Bolton as a key to their first flag push. “He is what we needed. A bit of speed, can kick goals from midfield and break games open,” he said. “He has made me feel a bit old though as I played with his dad (Darren) at Peel. I was 17 and played a handful of league games when Darren was still playing.” Ballantyne, now 37 and a successful racehorse trainer, is stepping into the ring and calling out any ex-footy player willing to take him on in an exhibition bout at Pathway Boxing at RAC Arena on Saturday, April 26. He is yet to find an opponent for the fight, with sponsorship going toward youth mental health charity Zero2Hero. He keeps busy, just like he was on the field, and is “excited” about the prospect of watching the Dockers climb the ladder. He liked the messaging of of midfielders Andy Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Hayden Young at the club’s season launch. “They are all swimming in the same direction. They all know what they are looking for. They all mentioned premierships. If they are talking about it, it’s a good step in the right direction,” Ballantyne said. Brisbane proved last year it was possible for a non-Victorian team to win the flag from outside the top four , lifting silverware after ending the home and away season in fifth position. The Western Bulldogs also won from seventh in 2016, but Ballantyne said history proved it was a tough gig for teams that finished outside the top four. “The Bulldogs (and Brisbane) proved that you don’t have to be top four, but they were the only examples in however long in the top eight system,” he said. “I think you have to be top four, particularly being a WA side. Top two is ideal as you get that home final straight up and potentially a second home final. “They have all the ingredients to do it. Hopefully they get in the kitchen and cook it up.” There are a number of Dockers still part of the squad who were teammates of Ballantyne, Nat Fyfe, Michael Walters, Brennan Cox and Luke Ryan among them. “We got close. Hopefully they can go one better,” Ballantyne said.