Round 17 WAFL Wrap

LEAGUE

PT 3.7 (25) lost to SF 22.9 (141)

It was great to play four-first gamers in Jackson Broadbent, Luke Polson, David Yaccob and Jake Howes.

Hopefully it is the start of fine careers for these young men. Congratulations to Jackson who kicked the first goal for Peel Thunder in his first League match.  

To have eight-changes this week, seven of them caused by the pandemic and the effect on our list through the unavailability of our Fremantle Dockers players gave opportunity to these young fellas to step up into the League side

It was certainly not an ideal situation, but it did provide us with a unique opening to play a local side in the Round where we celebrated 25-years of Peel Thunder in the WAFL competition.

It was a hard game in tough conditions and I am so proud of our team for maintaining composure and staying competitive, even with a devastating scoreboard result.

This season has been full of ups and downs, we’ve endured single digit losses in four-games and winning four others. We have been admired by many in the press for our consistency and this fixturing has thrown a real challenge, one that we will face again this weekend as we go up against Swans in Bassendean.

We will despite such obstacles front up this week and give it our all.

Best players were Tyrone Thorne, Bodie Kitchingman, Ben Hancock, Brodie Lake and Blair Bell.

COLTS

A home game for the Thunder this week as the six-win South Fremantle looked to consolidate their finals credentials against a Peel team aiming to spoil the party and gain some momentum on the back end of the season.

South Fremantle would start the game strong, winning at the contest and on the outside. Unfortunately, they didn’t capitalise on opportunities taking a four-point lead into quarter time. The second saw more of a free-flowing affair with only Peel’s accuracy keeping them in the game, kicking 3.0 to South’s 5.1.

The Bulldogs increased their advantage in the third quarter and while they were on top on the scoreboard it was Peel’s inability to capitalise on opportunity that kept them on the back foot and ultimately found themselves 29-points down at the final change.

Enter the comeback! Better execution and aggression at the contest saw the Thunder spark to life and take the momentum and ran with it all the way to a 5.1 to 0.1 quarter. The dying stages saw some game saving repeat stoppages and clutching victory from the jaws of defeat, getting the all-important four points in an absolute thriller. Peel finishing 11.2 (68) to South Fremantle 10.7 (67).

Here are a few of the more eye-catching performances from the game:

1. Jackson Klepzig – active as a forward providing a target for Peel forward entries. Finished with a tidy 16-possessions and two-goals, which could have been more if he held on to a couple of dropped marks. Was dangerous when it mattered and played a large role in the final quarter comeback. Just a true gamer!
2. Darcy Wills – changed the midfield dynamic when he went into the ruck during the second half. Impacted contests in the air and on the ground, giving midfielders momentum moving through stoppages and assisting with getting the upper hand on South’s during important stages.
3. Scott Tuia – again the leading possession getter for the side with another 23-possessions and a goal. His leadership when the chips were down were just as important and kept the side going when all seemed lost. Seven inside 50’s underly the importance of his ball use forward of centre.
4. Ethan Donaghy – hard as a cat’s head and hits each contest like it is his last. Got his hands on the football often with 18-possessions and his tackle pressure was elite, finishing with 11. Along with Tuia, really embodies the never say die attitude.
5. Byron Finch – any time a midfielder finishes with three-goals they’ve had a good day. Along with 14-possessions, Finchy has really cemented his spot in the Thunder midfield and proved a headache for South midfielders. Excited to see how he develops over the back end of the season.

A nail biting win this week will be followed up by the tough test of taking on ladder leaders, Swan Districts up at Bassendean. The one-loss Swans will be a big scalp to claim but after a confidence building win you can never say never.