Weekly Wrap

WAFL

Peel Thunder 7.10 (52) defeated by West Perth 12.8 (80)

West Perth played clean direct football, especially in the second and third quarters when they outscored PT by 10-goals to one which set up their victory.

We on the other hand, despite an efficient start and good last quarter were beaten to the ball, beaten at stoppage and were fumbly.

We will be working on these aspects at training this week.

From a injury point of view we lost Alex Pearce by half time, which we hope is just a precautionary issue.  We also believe that Ben Middleton may have done significant damage to his knee and we await scan results to ascertain the extent of his injury.

On a positive note all of the experience we can get into our young team is invaluable, as it is worth noting that well over half of our team (13) have played between two to 19-games. These guys include Pina, Thorne, Randall, O’Driscoll, Lake, Ewing, Sears, Cullen, Western, Valente, Walker, Middleton and Ryan Bennell.

We have great faith in our lads and will be looking to bouncing back in the coming weeks.

Shep

RESERVES

The Peel Thunder Senior Development team went down valiantly to the Falcons at home on Saturday despite a brave performance and one that was a clear improvement in both our systematic ball movement and our team defensive principles.

The scoreboard attendant was kept busy early in the piece with goals to Jaxon Egan, Rob Falkstrom and Rob Schindler-Taylor in the first quarter.  Leno Thomas, Sandy Brock and Traye Bennell all started the game particularly well for Peel.  

Only three-goals were scored in the second-term as both sides’ defences got on top and we went into the main break with the margin less than a goal.  Unfortunately, in the third quarter we went away from the method that had us in the contest early and couldn’t quite take control of the ball for long enough.

Despite being down by 20-points early in the final quarter, a spirited comeback led by James Sturrock, Kyle White and debutant Luen Colton (6-tackles and a goal) had our men hit the lead with nine-minutes to go in the game.  Unfortunately two critical moments inside defensive 50 let us down late to have us ultimately fall short by 14-points 7.12 (54) to West Perth 10.8 (68).

In positive news Zach Rankin got through unscathed and showed us all his clear level of talent and poise with 21-disposals.  Sandy Brock and Calvin Stone continue to be critical pillars of our defence as they have been every week in their first year and Rob Schindler-Taylor took a giant leap in returning to the form that saw him play WAFL League footy in 2020. 

While the results are frustrating at present, we are in no doubt that the squad is improving week by week and will continue to do so this week against our old rivals in Subiaco. 

Hope to see you all at the footy!!!

COLTS

After what has been an inconsistent start to the season with multiple byes, the Peel Thunder Colts came back to Saturday morning football against West Perth. The Falcons in a similar position to the Thunder had only secured one victory in 2021, so a red-hot contest was in store.

The match started in a lethargic manner for the locals, failing to have a single in-play possession until after the 10-minute mark of the first quarter. Luckily the Falcons hadn’t fully woken and found that their radar was off target kicking 2.6 with the morning breeze.

After a timely reminder at quarter time about winning contested ball the Thunder went to work early in the second kicking the first three-goals and in the process building a handy lead. Unfortunately, momentum was short lived and West Perth hit back late in the term to go into the half with a 16-point lead.

The third quarter again saw Peel struggle going against the breeze, failing to trouble the scorers while West Perth kicked further ahead as a result of winning more contested ball and efficient ball movement. A 40-point three quarter time lead seemed unassailable but with the final quarter breeze anything was possible.

While the comeback in the end seemed out of reach the Thunder did fight it out to win the last quarter 2.3 to 1.5, a positive in what was a difficult day to shine any light on. Regardless of the result the Peel boys have to regroup quickly for their away fixture against fellow bottom five side, Subiaco.

In what was a dirty day for most, here was a selection of those who battled hard:

1. Bodie Kitchingman – 31-touches for the day just shows the work rate that Bodie has around the ground and with skills to match always poses as a threat to the opposition. Plied his trade mostly through the midfield but spent some time at half back to work on some defensive craft.
2. Jackson Broadbent – the big ruckman slotted back into the side this week and didn’t look out of place. Grew as the game went on impacting at more contests and finishing some of his ball work with a couple of entries inside 50. Impressive tank to run out the last in the ruck with no support as numbers dwindled on the bench.
3. Jackson Klepzig – just a gamer who puts himself in the contest regularly. Has enjoyed a little more midfield time in recent weeks and has been serviceable. Four tackles and a goal added to his 17-possessions meant a solid game from Jackson.
4. Scott Tuia – more often than not plays his role for the team really well and when he gets his hands on the ball does something productive. Really impressed with his ability to want to win contested footy and also has the ability to use it on the outside with his left foot. Just needed some more mates on the ground doing the same this week.
5. Ethan Donaghy – another week of hitting contests hard and pushing himself to his limits. Didn’t get as much reward this week with possessions but sets the standard for application. Six tackles and three inside 50’s show the light and shade where Ethan works defensively with his tackling as well as penetrating the forward line with his foot skills.

WAFLW

Round 12 had the WALFW hosting South Fremantle to celebrate Greta McKinley’s 100^th Peel league game, in a match played after the WAFL men on a very wet and cold winters night. 

The game started with the rain teaming down and South dominating field position before some brilliance from Kira Phillips to score the opening goal.  Unfortunately that was the only goal for the first half as the weather got worse making ball movement very difficult. 

After a dry out at half time, and the rain easing, the girls kicked a goal in the third to lead by 11-points at three quarter time.  The last quarter saw our best football for the night kicking two-goals for the quarter and keeping South Fremantle to one-point.  The most pleasing aspect of the night was how our defence held up under enormous pressure and kept South Fremantle goalless for the game.  Final score was Peel 4.5 29 to South Fremantle 0.5 5. 

Best players were Cassie Davidson, Sabreena Duffy, Kira Phillips, Whitney Benson and Aisha Wright.  Phillips kicked three goals for the night and Hannah Church kicked one.  This week we travel to Leederville play the inform Subiaco at 5.15pm Saturday and we’ll be looking for a win to secure second spot and a double chance with three-weeks left in the season.

While the Reserves team had a bye the Rogers cup girls travelled to Leederville to play East Perth and it turned out to be a tough, physical affair with the girls running out comfortable winners after a scoreless first quarter. 

Final score was 6.9 45 to 1.2 8.  Best players were Billie Jae Thompson, Emily Gunton, Lily Jetten, Arianne Norris and Tajah Griffiths.  Goal scorers were Shareckah Jones with three and Rose Hambrecht, Paige Vos and Holly Britton kicking one-apiece. 

Both the Reserves and Rogers cup teams play Subiaco at David Grays Arena on Sunday.

Steve