Panthers motivated for big showing in 125th anniversary season

Railways’ 2025 defence of the Goldfields Football League’s senior premiership will be made in conjunction with its 125th anniversary.

The main celebrations on the WA Day long weekend will be preceded on May 30 by a Friday night meet-and-greet before extending to the Panthers’ round eight clash with Boulder on May 31 at Sir Richard Moore Sports Centre.

An official anniversary reunion will take place that night at the Tower Hotel, followed by a sundowner on June 1.

The Panthers’ league squad is this year chasing back-to-back flags for the first time since 2011-12 and a third in four years under Rhett Pettit — broken up by a two-point loss in the 2023 decider against Boulder.

In pursuit of those goals, the current group will look to replicate the deeds of the 2000 squad which completed a fairytale end to the club’s centenary season with a crushing grand final victory over Mines Rovers by 51 points.

They were brilliantly led by skipper Graham Borchett and Darren Coram, and erased memories of the side’s shock loss to the Diorites a fortnight earlier in the second semifinal.

Borchett, who played in a premiership side with Boddington in the Great Southern League five years earlier, was the Achilles heel for the Diorites’ defence all day on the way to a match-winning seven-goal haul to earn the Fyson Medal as best-on-ground.

Coram was only a shade less effective in claiming the Subiaco Golds award, and key forward Steven Davies kicked three goals when Railways ended a 13-year flag drought.

Of Borchett’s seven goals, five were kicked in the second half — including three in the last term.

The result was another triumph for Railways’ player-coach Bradley George — the 1995 Mitchell medallist — who lined up in a sixth premiership side.

Since 2000, Railways have appeared in 16 grand finals and captured nine flags.