Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Ian Alfred Borchard

Known as
Ian Borchard

Born
5 August 1957 (age 66)

Place of birth
Swan Hill, VIC (3585)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 9d
Last game: 20y 288d

Height and weight
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 76 kg

Senior clubs
Richmond; South Fremantle; West Adelaide

Jumper numbers
Richmond: 51

Recruited from
Swan Hill (1976); Richmond (1978); South Fremantle (1979)

State of origin
VIC

Ian Borchard

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
RichmondV/AFL1976, 1978520.4060%8.209.002.800
South FremantleWANFL1978100.00
West AdelaideSANFL1979-1986145800.55
Total1976, 1978-1986151820.54

AFL: 8,860th player to appear, 9,913th most games played, 8,143rd most goals kickedRichmond: 783rd player to appear, 862nd most games played, 713th most goals kicked

After failing to make his mark at both Richmond (five games) and South Fremantle (one game) hopes would almost certainly have not been outrageously high at West Adelaide when Ian Borchard arrived there in 1979. However, sometimes a change of scene can do mysterious things to both a player's morale and his motivation, and Borchard proved to be undeniably one of West's most noteworthy recruits of the past half century. 

Tough, courageous and desperate, his approach suited the red and blacks' style to a tee. In only his second season he was elevated to the vice-captaincy and won a best and fairest, before assuming the captaincy in 1981. A second best and fairest award followed in 1982, and the following year Borchard experienced a pleasure no West captain managed to repeat for the next three decades when he lifted received the Thomas Hill Seymour Cup at the end of the club's winning Grand Final against Sturt. Ian Borchard retired at the end of the 1986 season having played 145 senior games, mainly as a ruck-rover, and kicked 80 goals in his eight-season stint at Richmond Oval. 

In 2001 and 2002 Borchard was senior coach of the Bloods, leading them to consecutive fifth place finishes.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.