The father of a coward punch victim has spoken of his disgust that Noah Balta could be available for selection this weekend after seeing CCTV footage of the Richmond player's alleged assault on a man.

Balta is facing up to five years in jail after pleading guilty for an attack on another man outside the Mulwala Water Ski club in December last year, but is not set to be sentenced until April 22.

It means the 25-year-old is eligible for selection at Gather Round where the Tigers face Fremantle as well as their Round 6 clash with Gold Coast.

While question marks remain over whether Balta will travel to Adelaide, Matt Cronin, whose son Patrick was killed in 2016 by a coward punch in a pub brawl, has criticised the AFL and Richmond for even allowing Balta to be in contention to play.

"When you see the vision, it is just so sickening," Cronin told 3AW.

"He pleaded guilty. We now wait to see what punishment the courts dish out."

Vision played in court showed Balta run towards his victim, knock him to the ground before delivering repeated blows to his head.

In March, prosecutors telling a court that the victim of the assault - Thomas Washbrook - was lucky to be alive.

Cronin, A Richmond fan and member of the club, hopes Balta never plays in the yellow and black again.

After his son's death, Matt started the Pat Cronin Foundation to end the 'coward punch'. Last year Richmond's VFL side participated in 'Pat's Match' to help raise awareness.

"I'm really disappointed as a Richmond supporter," he said. "I hope he never comes back. That's my opinion of him.

"He has brought Richmond into disrepute."

Having initially been handed a six-week ban by his club – which meant he missed pre-season matches and the first four rounds of the season – many called for an extension to Balta's suspension after CCTV of the assault was made public last month.

Amid mounting pressure on the club, it is understood the plan was to bring Balta back into action via the VFL, but with no fixture this weekend Richmond face the conundrum of selecting him or being forced to extend his time on the sidelines.

While both Richmond and the AFL have spoken in defence of Balta and insisted there would be no further sanctions pending his sentencing, Cronin took aim at Andrew Dillon.

"They've (the AFL) ticked it off, there's no doubt about it," he said.

"I think they've made their decision, sadly.

"The AFL has a terrific opportunity to set a benchmark."

WHAT THE CLUB SAY

Richmond coach Adem Yze last week insisted his player had been punished enough.

“The AFL was part of the process when we sanctioned him; six weeks is a long time for a player to have out,” Yze said.

“Not only the six weeks suspension, he’s been dealing with this for three months. He’s been doing extras at training, community service, helping around the footy club.

“He’s earning the trust and respect back not only from his team but his club, he’s hating not being out there.

“The fact that it’s out in the media now – it happened in January. He’s been dealing with that for a long time, so we’re not going to change our verdict.

“We’ve worked with the AFL and we’re really clear on that. It’s going to be nice when he is available.”

Tigers defenders Ben Miller, Jacob Blight and Luke Trainor, with guidance from Nick Vlastuin and Nathan Broad, have been performing solidly in Balta's absence.

They play the Dockers at Barossa Park in Lyndoch from 12:35pm AEST on Sunday.