Geelong’s general manager of football operations Neil Balme has been honoured by the AFL with life membership.

Balme has over 40 consecutive years in the game and was stunned by the award.

“It’s a tremendous honour and one I didn’t expect at all,” Balme said.

“It’s funny, I saw a number come up on my phone as a missed call that was from the AFL and I didn’t recognise whose number it was. So I checked my voicemail and it was Andrew Demetriou calling. I thought, ‘something must be really wrong’, so I called him back very quickly and he gave me the good news! So I went from worried to happy pretty quickly.

“There are many people throughout the game that would be deserving of life membership so for the AFL to give it to me is very humbling.”

Geelong CEO Brian Cook, himself an AFL life member believes Balme fully deserves the award.

“Neil is a tremendous person and has spent a lifetime in the game,” Cook said. “He thoroughly deserves this honour and we are glad that he has made such a big impact in his time at the club. He has a charismatic personality and he loves the game. Neil is respected by everyone that comes into contact with him and everyone at the club is thrilled by the AFL’s decision to award him life membership.”

Balme began his senior career with Subiaco in the WAFL in 1968. He moved east to Melbourne the following year when his father received a work transfer to Melbourne, and he joined Richmond.

The affable Balme became a cult figure at Punt Road, helping the Tigers to premierships in 1973 and 1974. He was later named as vice captain and finished runner up in the club’s best & fairest. A troublesome knee injury curtailed Balme’s league career at just 28 after 159 games with Richmond, and he immediately moved into coaching.

Balme was snared by Norwood and led the Redlegs to premierships in 1982 and 1984. He moved to the newly merged Woodville-West Torrens in 1991 before Melbourne secured his services in 1993.

Balme led the Demons to the 1994 preliminary final and was named as the All Australian coach. He was sacked by the club midway through the 1998 campaign and spent the rest of the year working in the media.

But the lure of club life was too strong and in 1999 he was named as football manager at Collingwood. He spent seven seasons at Victoria Park before being lured to Geelong following the 2006 season.

In his three years at Skilled Stadium the Cats have won two flags and Balme has done an outstanding job in keeping the list in tact in the face of salary cap pressures that all elite teams face.

Balme will accept his life membership at the AFL’s season launch in March.