Richmond then lost a number of ruckman, allowing Balme to play more football on the ball and he was appointed vice captain of the club for the 1976 VFL season. Balme had his best-ever season in 1977, finishing second in Richmond's Best and Fairest award, the Jack Dyer Medal, and was chosen to play for his native Western Australia in the first state of origin match in October. Unfortunately, his finals campaign was hindered by a late season suspension, causing him to miss the first week of the finals. The following week he returned, only to be stymied by his North Melbourne opposition, who made a last-minute switch to his opponent that left Balme and his teammates off-guard. Richmond lost the match convincingly and were eliminated.