CALDER Cannons ran out emphatic 95-point winners over the Bendigo Pioneers at Queen Elizabeth Oval in Round 9 of the Talent League Girls, with the 15.12 (102) to 1.1 (7) result confirming the gap between the sides. At the heart of it all was Coco Balmain, who played through the midfield and proceeded to dominate – finishing with 30 disposals, five marks, nine tackles, three clearances, four inside 50s, and a goal in a performance that showed she is incredibly versatile having also played in defence prior.

BACKGROUND:

Coco Balmain
Height: 175cm
DOB: 01/01/2009

Coco Balmain entered the 2026 Talent League Girls season with an established reputation as a reliable defensive rebounder who can also play through the middle. The Calder Cannons bottom-ager had caught the eye in her Under 16s work as a tall who could intercept, repel, and relaunch from the defensive half, and her Round 5 showing against Western Jets – six rebound 50s from the back flank – reinforced that identity. Balmain “consistently cleared the ball from the back half and pushed up the ground to provide run and carry going forward”, and her 2025 Under 16s carnival appearances drew praise for her intercept marking and booming left-foot kick.

But what unfolded at Queen Elizabeth Oval was something different. Deployed on-ball from the opening bounce against the Pioneers, the 175cm left-footer seized the moment and never let go.

PLAYER FOCUS:

Stats vs Bendigo Pioneers, Round 9: 30 disposals (12 kicks, 18 handballs), 5 marks, 9 tackles, 3 clearances, 4 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 1 goal.

QUARTER 1

Balmain announced her intentions from the first bounce, stationed on-ball and immediately imposing herself on the contest. Her opening acts set the tone – a thumping left-foot delivery to half-forward, followed by a composed mark on the wing and a well-weighted kick in to the half-forward line. She continued to find space and use it, marking inside 50 before identifying a teammate in position and thumping long to the goalsquare, the ball finding Taylor Kereopa.

Eight disposals at quarter time – five kicks, three handballs – alongside four marks underlined just how heavily involved she was in Calder’s ball movement. The quick hands inside 50 and repeated intercept work also showed a player who could win it in tight just as comfortably as she could find it in space.

QUARTER 2

The second term was where Balmain announced herself as the game’s best player. She won a holding-the-ball free kick inside 50 and calmly slotted the resultant set shot from 35 metres – a composed finish that belied her status as a bottom-ager operating as a midfielder for one of the first times at this level.

The variety of her ball use across the quarter was striking. She gathered from the half-back flank and drove down the wing, linked quickly inside 50 through the handball chain, produced a run-down tackle on Bendigo’s Sage Dennis at half-back to win another free kick, and bumped to force a turnover going forward.

Even when her kick was intercepted in the defensive 50, she reset without fuss and continued to generate. A total of 10 disposals in the quarter – four kicks, six handballs – took her to 18 for the half alongside five marks, a return that would have satisfied most for the game, let alone at half-time.

QUARTER 3

The third term was where the contest compressed and Balmain shifted registers entirely. With less space to operate, she produced her most impressive period of the match – high-pressure, close-contact work that showed genuine inside-midfield capability.

A release handball under pressure in the opening 30 seconds was fantastic, and she continued to find the ball and move it cleanly in tight despite the work being done through the midfield corridor rather than the open ground. Eight disposals – two kicks, six handballs – told the story of a player who adapted to what the game demanded and delivered accordingly.

QUARTER 4

With the result long decided, Balmain continued to compete. She wrestled free a ball on the wing and kicked to a contest, launched another thumping kick inside 50 that led directly to a goal to Bullen, and got a handball away cleanly in traffic in the middle.

A slight fumble was immediately followed by her winning the ball back – a detail that speaks to the mentality of a player who never switched off. Four disposals in the final term was a quieter finish, but the context of a 95-point margin explained that more than any individual drop off in energy.

SUMMARY

A whopping 30 disposals, nine tackles, and a goal on-ball against a willing opponent, from a player previously known almost exclusively as a defensive tall. The 2025 Under 16s version of Balmain was a booming left-footer who could intercept and rebound. The 2026 version has added genuine midfield credentials – quick hands in close, elite defensive pressure, positional awareness to find the ball in multiple ways, and the composure to finish from 35 metres when the opportunity arrived.

For a 2009-born player still finding her way in a competition a year ahead of her age group, the ceiling suggested here is genuinely exciting. If she can continue to grow her on-ball capabilities alongside the defensive foundations that have defined her to this point, then she is a name to keep tabs on over the next 18 months.