GAWLER Central’s Charlie Molyneux collected his second Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association Schluter Medal last week in a result predicted widely, but few expected Angaston ruckman Marc Borholm to claim a share of the A-grade’s top prize with 11 votes.
Former Woodville-West Torrens big man Borholm only played his side’s first five games before his season was cut short due to injury, but he made a serious impression in his time on the pitch as the umpires showered him in votes early on.
Borholm said he almost forgot to watch the ceremony, but tuned in halfway through the reserves count as it was streamed online.
“I thought I genuinely had no chance,” he said.
“I was having a good season before I got injured, but I play on the same team as Steve Summerton who gets best-on-ground every week, so I didn’t think I’d really be anywhere near the top.
“I was sitting on the couch with my wife and she was watching something on the telly, so she made me listen to it through my headphones… it got to round four or five and I was on top and I said to her, half-jokingly, that I might be a chance.
“It wasn’t until the last round came around and Charlie and I were tied, before I realised Gawler Central had the bye that week, and after none of the top guys got votes from the Angaston versus South Gawler game I said ‘I think I just won?’”
Borholm, who obviously plans to go around again next year at age 32, said it was a disappointing season for the Panthers but with the quality at Angaston he expects the group to right the ship.
“We were obviously flying in 2019, but this year we just felt a bit off from the start,” he said.
“We still got plenty of the footy and played alright, but we just routinely burnt the footy going forward in a way I feel is pretty uncharacteristic for us.
“I got injured, our captain Jack Miles didn’t play in the preliminary final, Jay Shannon played in that final but was basically on one leg, and Scott Lewis did a hamstring as well – so we did have a few important injuries at bad times.
“I think we’ll still be around the mark next year which is encouraging – hopefully we get another crack at the big one.”
The reserves best-and-fairest went to Gawler Central’s Clint Hill, while the medals for the senior colts and junior colts went to Barossa District’s Luke Hajdu and Will O’Brien respectively.