The exciting forward praised the likes of Ryan Crowley, who shut out Eagle Luke Shuey in a 65-point Carlton Mid Derby romp on Saturday, and Matt de Boer, who sacrifices his body week-in, week-out, along with a resilient, watertight defence.
“They are the unrewarded blokes that don’t get best on ground in the papers, but to us, they are best on ground,” Ballantyne said.
“They live our trademark and do the things we need them to do every week.
“’Crowls’ and Matty de Boer were unreal doing their jobs and the defence just doesn’t give an inch.”
Ballantyne kicked three third-quarter goals that ignited the predominately purple Patersons Stadium crowd, but he said his job was made easy by Freo’s key forwards.
“Matthew Pavlich and big Kepler Bradley always give you a contest and the ball very rarely is marked by the opposition,” he said.
“It makes it a lot easier knowing where the ball is going to go. Get to their feet and your half a chance to get a sniff at goal.
“Goals have been hard to come by for me this year, so I got a bit excited when I kicked a couple.”
The livewire forward said the Derby win was a massive one for the club, not just because it was against West Coast.
“To win the way we did was just awesome,” he said.
“It was a four-quarter effort. We really wanted it and we delivered.”
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From the Crows: Trio tipped to play
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They are our best on grounds: Ballantyne
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From the Crows: Tippett test
Five Talking Points from the Carlton Mid Derby
It's about time says Mundy
Team kicked the goals: Pavlich
