James Borlase

James Borlase (born 18 July 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Adelaide Crows in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the Crows as a category B rookie in 2020 and made his AFL debut in 2023.

Early life
Borlase was born in Cairo, Egypt, while his father worked as a commodity trader abroad. The Borlase family moved to Melbourne several months after he was born and relocated to Adelaide around four years later, settling in the suburb of Netherby.

Borlase played junior football for the Unley Jets. He made the under-15 All-Australian team and played in the under-17 futures game at the MCG on 2019 AFL Grand Final day.

In 2020, Borlase made his senior debut for Sturt in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He also earned best on ground honours in Prince Alfred College's 2020 All Schools Cup grand final victory.

AFL career
In December 2020, Borlase was drafted by the Adelaide Crows as a category B rookie from the club's Next Generation Academy. Although his father Darryl played 246 games for Port Adelaide in the SANFL, Borlase was ineligible to be a Port Adelaide father-son prospect because Darryl fell short of the required minimum of 200 matches before the club's Australian Football League (AFL) entry in 1997. In 2021, Borlase finished runner-up in Adelaide's SANFL Club Champion Award.

In 2023, Borlase played 14 games for Adelaide in the SANFL where he averaged 13.6 disposals and six marks per game. He made his AFL debut in round 21 of the 2023 season and played the final four games of the season after the Crows' key defensive stocks were hit hard through injury to finish the year. Following the season, he was delisted and then redrafted by the Crows as a rookie.

Statistics

 * Statistics are correct to end of 2023 season


 * scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2021
 * || 35 || 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
 * - style="background:#EAEAEA"
 * scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2022
 * || 35 || 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
 * scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2023
 * || 35 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 20 || 12 || 32 || 15 || 7 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 5.0 || 3.0 || 8.0 || 3.8 || 1.8
 * -style="background:#EAEAEA; font-weight:bold; width:2em"
 * scope="row" text-align:center class="sortbottom" colspan=3 | Career
 * 4
 * 0
 * 0
 * 20
 * 12
 * 32
 * 15
 * 7
 * 0.0
 * 0.0
 * 5.0
 * 3.0
 * 8.0
 * 3.8
 * 1.8
 * }
 * 1.8
 * }

Personal life
Borlase is the son of Darryl Borlase and Jenny Borlase. His father played Australian rules football for the Port Adelaide Football Club while his mother played for the Australian netball team. His older sister, Ella, has represented Australia in surfboat rowing while his younger sister, Isobel, is a basketball player drafted by the Atlanta Dream in the 2024 WNBA draft. As of 2020, his grandfather lived in Eyre Peninsula.