Insiders from the Harrow-Balmoral football club decide to break the code of silence. For Elise, it’s time to rebuild her life. But her story inspires other women to emerge with their own troubling accounts of the town’s club culture. When the convicted men were freed, Balmoral threw them a hero’s welcome; after everything, what was actually learned?
05 Hometown Boys | 'Luke, Maybe'
13/02/2026 | 30 mins.
A key witness submits a startling new statement that topples the guilty verdict and forces a retrial. This time, the men accused will not give evidence. But Lisa Hutchins, the trusted bush nurse will take the stand again — now for the defence.
04 Hometown Boys | The Trial
05/02/2026 | 27 mins.
As the criminal trial unfolds, witnesses from Balmoral waver on the stand, and the judge is "taken aback". The courtroom is heaving with supporters of the accused but the verdict is not what they're expecting.
03 Hometown Boys | Exile
26/01/2026 | 31 mins.
In the days after the 21st birthday party, some residents of Balmoral appear to take sides. As the police case quietly gathers pace, the town’s loyalties harden. Soon Elise and her family find themselves increasingly isolated in their own hometown.
03 Hometown Boys | The 'Mayoress of Balmoral'
26/01/2026 | 31 mins.
A respected bush nurse with close ties to the accused becomes a key police witness. As the investigation quietly gathers pace, locals start to choose sides and the family of the victim feels ostracised.
Background Briefing is the ABC's flagship investigative journalism podcast. Its award-winning investigations and documentaries expose cover-ups, corruption, real-life mysteries, whistleblowing, crime, fraud and miscarriages of justice — often before these stories receive mainstream attention.
The Background Briefing podcast brings you true stories not everyone will want you to hear, told by trusted reporters across Australia.
This Australian podcast makes investigative journalism bingeable. From scams and fraud to schooling and health scandals, tech and social media digs, police exposes and various unsolved cases, each episode of the Background Briefing podcast is a must-listen.
Recent series include:
Hometown Boys exposed how a terrible crime fractured a local community around a local football club.
The Invisible Killer: a forensic investigation into unexplained deaths in aged care after a doctor makes an unusual discovery.
The Favourite: how a schoolyard secret stayed hidden for years.
Stop and Search, which uncovered the mechanics of power and police accountability.
Before and After investigated medical hype, telehealth, body image, cosmetic procedures and consumer risk.
Beef: how small feuds escalate into serious disputes.
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