Hayden Ballantyne says it’s going to be tough to say goodbye to Fremantle and the Purple Army at his farewell home game on Saturday night against Essendon at Optus Stadium.
The game will also be celebrated as a farewell game for Ballantyne’s good friend Aaron Sandilands as well as Michael Walters’ 150th milestone game.
Ballantyne has kicked the third-most goals for Fremantle, behind all time leader Matthew Pavlich and only two behind the second-placed Walters.
While Ballantyne plans to play on either in the AFL or WAFL beyond 2019, he said that he’s going to treasure running out in the purple jumper in front of a Fremantle home crowd for the final time.
“We have some extremely passionate and loyal supporters,” Ballantyne said.
“Running out onto the field every week and playing in front of them has been a privilege and something I’ve really enjoyed over the course of my career.
“They’ve been very vocal and you get a bit more adrenaline pumping. Sometimes the noise is deafening, it really stands out and it gives the boys a lift as well.”
Ballantyne has been known for pushing the limits on the football field and he remembered starting his career on the wrong foot with the umpires.
“My first game is one of my best memories obviously, we played against Collingwood in 2009,” Ballantyne said.
“I got reported before I even got a touch! I think I ran into Nick Maxwell from Collingwood and got reported.
“My 100th game and 150th, they were definitely highlights, being able to run out with my kids and reaching life membership has been huge.”
The 173cm Ballantyne said that being awarded All Australian honours in 2014 was also among his highlights.
“Being a small forward, probably the highest individual honour you can get to is All Australian, outside of maybe winning a B&F,” Ballantyne said.
“In general terms as a small forward, the All Australian is the highest you can get to, so in 2014, that was a huge honour being recognised as basically in the best 22 players in the competition.
“I feel I’ve always played some good patches of football but I think 2014 was a consistent year where I played well week after week and backed it up.
“The team in general played amazing footy throughout the whole year, unfortunately I think injuries took away our chance of winning a flag that year.
“I broke my jaw in the last game of the year and during the year, Luke McPharlin I think had a calf. We had a lot of injuries that year which really held us back from going all the way I think.”
