Borchet, Fullgrabe, Menegola & Miller Among Seven Debutants for Good Friday

Two players from Railways Football Club in Kalgoorlie and two players in their second chances at WAFL clubs headline a group of seven new debutants that will feature when Subiaco commence their season on Good Friday against East Perth.

 

Railways duo Ryan Borchet and Jacob Miller, former East Fremantle player Nick Menegola and former West Perth player Kaidyn Fullgrabe will all play their first WAFL league games in round one of the WAFL season.

 

All four players have had strong pre-seasons, with Borchet, Miller and Menegola showing the positive growth of last year’s Subiaco Reserves Premiership side.

 

For Borchet, after being named as an emergency several times late last year, it was a nice moment to get the phone call that he would make his WAFL debut.

 

“It took me a while to react actually,” Borchet said.

 

“When it hit me, I was just so grateful to get the opportunity to play and now it is just excitement for the game.”

 

Borchet has continually improved in his four years with Subiaco having moved down from Kalgoorlie. After playing with the Subiaco colts in 2014 and 2015, Borchet played 17 reserves games in his first season of senior football in 2016 and 20 in 2017, including the Reserves Premiership success.

 

During his time in senior football Borchet has shown excellent versatility as someone who can play either forward or down back.

 

The excitement of playing league footy is heightened knowing he will share the moment with his family.

 

“Mum and Dad were tossing up whether to come down for the game,” Borchet said.

 

“As soon as I told Mum, she said they were coming, so it will be nice to have them here for my league debut.”  

 

It will be a big day for Railways with another product to make his debut in Jacob Miller.

 

Miller like Borchet made the move from Kalgoorlie playing Colts footy in 2015 and 2016 showing enough promise in his second colts season to graduate through to Reserves football, where Miller has gone on to play 32 games in the past two years.

 

Miller was another to play in the Reserves Grand Final and has developed into a strong defender with Subiaco and is looking forward to the challenge of a league debut.

 

“I was driving when I got the call from Schoey and that immediate reaction was probably of nerves,” Miller said.

 

“But since than the excitement has just grown and I am really looking forward to playing the game.”

 

For Miller it was nice to share it with his family, with younger brother Ben, who was drafted to Richmond, reaching out to wish his big brother good luck for the game.

 

“I told Mum and Dad and they were really excited and really proud of the achievement, even got a text from Ben which was nice.”

 

Miller was not the only debutant to get a text from an AFL brother, with former Subiaco player and current Geelong midfielder, Sam Menegola being one of the first to reach out to brother Nick ahead of his debut.

 

“Sam left a message straight away and was just so excited for me to make my debut,” Menegola said.

 

“I sent a group text out and Mum was the first one to come back to me, they all just want me to enjoy the experience.”

 

Menegola had a great debut season for Subiaco last year, playing 23 games including the Reserves Grand Final.

 

The tough choice to join Subiaco after three years with East Fremantle last year was vindicated for Menegola with making his debut this week.

 

Another who feels vindicated by his decision is Kaidyn Fullgrabe who after a year out of the WAFL chose to join Subiaco for the 2018 season.

 

Fullgrabe has stood out throughout pre-season with good decision making, good disposal by foot and an ability to use his pace to find space on the outside.

 

After a strong pre-season Fullgrabe wasn’t sure what to expect when league coach Jarrad Schofield made the call to pass on the news.

 

“As soon as Schoey started, I knew I was in the team and it was exciting to get that news,” Fullgrabe said.

 

“I’m pretty focused on the game, knowing what I need to do to help the team.”

 

Joining these four WAFL debutants are former Melbourne player Ben Newton, former Fremantle player Zac Clarke and former West Perth player Drew Rohde who will all play their first game for the Lions.

 

Meanwhile Subiaco will debut nine new players in Reserves in Round One against East Perth, as the club continues to provide opportunities for the next generation of Lions.

 

A focus on development over the past two years has paid rewards with five players from the Subiaco Colts program to debut on Friday.

 

Aaron Breman, Max Dennis, Tom Edwards-Baldwin, Koby Fullgrabe and Mitch Hughes represent the five players that have graduated through the colts program and have stepped up strongly into the senior program.

 

After starring in country football in 2017, Travis Cleggett will debut for the Subiaco Reserves while Andrew Vawser will play his first Reserves game in four years when he lines up on Friday.

 

Meanwhile brothers Matthew Elhers and David Elhers round out the group of new players to Subiaco’s team for Round One of 2018.

 

With new players bringing a fresh excitement to the group, Subiaco is hopeful of a strong Good Friday crowd as both the league and reserves side look to start the season on a winning note.