Subiaco forward Ryan Borchet says getting the win in the weekend’s milestone State Game between Western Australia and South Australia was a special moment.
WA has broken a seven-year drought to claim a 30-point come-from-behind win over SA in the State Game held at Adelaide Oval, seeing the Hayden Bunton Jr. Cup will head west for the first time since 2018.
An unanswered seven-goal run put the West Aussies on the path to victory, with SA unable to fire back against a spirited WA side featuring 14 debutants.
Borchet was among the debutants and had a huge say in the win, booting four goals, including three in the space of 13 minutes.
He says it was an honour to pull on the state jumper.
“Growing up, you want to play at the highest level that you can. If you’re not playing in the AFL, you’re playing WAFL footy. The next step from there is state footy,” he told SportFM.
“It was something on the horizon for me coming to the back end of my career. It’s something I wanted to try to tick off.
“It was such an honour to get out there and to go there in the 100th game between the states was awesome, and to get the win was even more special.”
Coming into Saturday’s clash, SANFL not only had their recent form on their side, but were ahead in head-to-head wins, sitting 51-48. The weekend’s victory bumps WA up to 49, the count now on 51-49.
Borchet said coach Adam Read used the rivalry’s history as a key motivator for the WA side in the lead-up.
“He dove quite deep into the history of the SANFL and WAFL rivalry,” he said.
“Being the 100th match between us, it was probably an even bigger occasion, but I think he’d done a really good job speaking about the history of the rivalry.
“We rocked up to Adelaide off the plane and went for a little bit of a walk. He took us to a little patch of grass down at Adelaide University there where the first ever SA vs WA game was.
“I think that was a big factor in bringing the boys together, and I think it showed on the weekend.”
Sharks superstar Milan Murdock continued his dominant form for WA, claiming his second Simpson medal with 27 disposals, six marks and five tackles.
Peel defender Michael Sellwood also played well, finishing on 19 touches and eight marks, while Noah Strom worked hard to keep SA captain Liam Bean at bay.
Ruck Scott Jones’ (39 hit outs) ruck work ensured the West Aussies had first use of the ball, allowing Murdock, captain Christian Ameduri, Cameron Eardley and Jesse Turner to have maximum impact through the middle.
Up forward, Subiaco trio did some heavy lifting on the scoreboard, with Taj Schofield and Archer May kicking two goals apiece, complementing Borchet’s four.
Overall, Borchet says it was an awesome weekend to have been part of.
“Having not beaten them a long time, it was something very special,” he said.
“The way Adam Read was able to bring the boys together was something that was highly talked about throughout the week.
“The boys bonded well, and it showed on the weekend. It was probably one of the better team performances I’ve been a part of in footy.”