Weekend Footy Wrap

WAFL

Round 10 of the WAFL season saw us take on ladder leaders Claremont up at Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

We had seven forced changes due to injury from the previous week, which is never ideal. On the other hand there was some genuine excitement about the opportunity for players who have been performing really well at Reserves level to come into our League side and play a role. 

Included in those seven changes were two 19-year-old debutants. Powerful forward Roy George from the Eaton Boomers and 198cm athletic defender, Sandy Brock from the Palmerston Magpies. Both boys played their roles extremely well and were a large reason why we almost got over the line.

Unfortunately it was the second week in a row where we controlled large portions of the game, had more scoring shots than the opposition but weren’t able to walk away with a W.

Our young group will take great confidence out of getting into winning positions whilst also taking away some invaluable learnings from critical moments of the game. We also take great confidence out of the depth we are building within our squad and the ability for players to step up and play their role.

The boys will now use the upcoming bye weekend to recharge the batteries, support our WAFLW girls playing finals football and get ready to attack the second half of the season. 

We hope to see you all at David Grays Arena next weekend when we take on East Perth.

Go Thunder!

COLTS

The norm resumed for colts football this week with Peel Thunder taking on Claremont at the early start of 9:10am. Both teams had differing form lines into the match with Peel coming off their worst defeat of the year, while Claremont had been cruising to hold a top three spot in the competition.

The match started in quick fashion for the Thunder, hitting the scoreboard early and with accuracy. Claremont could only supervise the clean ball movement into the Peel forward line, which resulted in a quarter time lead. The second quarter would prove more of an arm wrestle with both teams gaining the ascendency at various stages, but the only issue in quarter two for Peel was the ability to get scoreboard pressure. Despite this Claremont only held a slender five-point lead at half time.

Moving into the second half it was the premiership quarter proved the back breaker for the away side with Claremont slamming on four-goals to two and a match winning lead at the final change. It looked as though the young legs of the Thunder had gone by the wayside and the Tigers would run away with it. The fourth saw the Thunder get their second wind, never giving up and only lost the quarter by two-points. The final 21-point margin seemed to cast a shadow over what was a competitive game for the visitors, who saw some fresh faces show some glimpses of talent. Here’s to some greater consistency in games to come…

Here are five players that showed more than a few glimpses throughout the match:

1. Scott Tuia – another solid performance that could be marked as his best game for the club yet. Superb inside and out showing and his growing leadership is seeing him grow in confidence. Seventeen possessions and six tackles reflect his strong work ethic throughout the game.
2. Taj Wyburd – wingers tend to be in our best when our game style is working and today proved that with Taj being a link player to many chains from defence to attack. A game high 23-possessions shows the gut running abilities of this young man. Six tackles also show his willingness to address areas of improvement. An all-round sound performance!
3. Mackenna Taylor – for those that haven’t heard of this young man, don’t worry. First week at the club saw him force his way into the side and for good reason. Great hands and quality decision making saw him have a memorable debut. Unfortunate that it couldn’t be capped off with a win.
4. Jackson McLellan – a true footballer with genuine leg speed. Came back into the side after a few weeks out and reminded a few how he earned his spot in the first place. Twenty-two touches and five tackles a stellar return for Jackson who with greater consistency in form should solidify his spot in the team for the remainder of the season.
5. Jarrad McIlvinney – got a little lost early but stuck to the task of playing on one of the best forwards in the comp in Jacob Van Rooyen. While there were moments he was genuinely beaten, by the days end Jarrad won his fair share of contests and can be satisfied with how he fought things out. Look forward to this match up the next time these two sides play!

Upon return from their upcoming bye, Peel play East Perth at David Grays Arena on the 26^th of June looking to secure win number three.

WAFLW

Round 15 and the last round of the home and away season saw our WAFLW team travel to Revo Fitness Stadium to take on the Tigers and with Claremont trying to secure a home final the contest was always going to fierce.  The first quarter saw us control the ball and dominate inside 50’s, unfortunately missed opportunities meant we didn’t get reward for effort however took a three-point lead into quarter time kicking 1.4 (10) to 1.1 (7).  In the second, our pressure and work rate wasn’t quite at the right level and Claremont being the quality side they are, opened up a 15-point lead on the back of our inaccuracy 1.5 (11) to 4.2 (26).  

A reset at half time and the girls went back to playing Peel football and created opportunities again to tighten the game up trailing at three quarter time by six-points 3.8 (26) to 5.2 (32).  The last quarter was hotly contested and a preview of the finals to come, we had opportunities but we couldn’t quite get the win with Claremont running out nine-point victors 4.8 (32) to 6.5 (41).  We take positives out of the win and with players to come back in for the finals the team is in good shape with second spot secured.  Best players were Ella Roberts, Chloe Wrigley, Cassie Davidson, Abby Barnden and Gracie Fenton.  Goal scorers were Ella Roberts, Kate Bartlett, Nel Baxter and Kira Phillips all kicking one each

The Reserves and Rogers both had byes this week.  The Reserves finished second and the Rogers third for the year.  Super proud of what the girls have achieved to this point with all three teams making the finals, and with Peel Thunder being the only club to have a team going through in all three grades.

Want to take this opportunity to thank the amazing people we have had in the program this year.  Thanks to Mark Fenton, Geoff Hayes, Kelly Jensen, Narelle Mcintyre, Aaron College, Neville Litchfield, Daniel Haines, Jacqui Thompson, Derek Rimer, Ebony Dowson (Coaches), Julia Matherson (S&C), Brenda Plint (Physio),  Darrell Church, Sandy Liddle (Trainers), Beth Carmody, Kelly Forder (Team Managers), Shantae Freeman, Owen Davies, Sandi Sherry (on/off field support) and to Rachael Hayes who has done an amazing job as not only Football Manager but as Team Manager and taking on bench rotations.

Thank you also to all our sponsors and supporters over the year, bring on the finals!

Semi Finals are on this Sunday 

League v Swans at Steel Blue Oval (Bassendean) at 2:30pm

Reserves v East Fremantle at Revo Fitness Stadium (Claremont) 11:30am

Rogers Cup v East Fremantle at Revo Fitness Stadium (Claremont) at 9:30am

Go Thunder!