Round 22 Game Wrap

LEAGUE

Peel Thunder 13.11 (89) lost to Subiaco 14.9 (93)

The last game of the year.  In the previous two weeks against Perth and West Coast we had come from 37-points and 44-points respectively and won those games which is quite rare.

I had mentioned to the boys that you won’t be able to give top of the table Subiaco that sort of start and win.  Well I was right, but clearly if the umpire had paid holding the ball in the last 30-seconds of the game (and he had the whistle to his lips!) we would have continued the fairy tale.

We were 51-points down at half time.  Subiaco had dominated the game having kicked 12-goals to our three, and we could have just put the cue in the rack and folded.

But not these boys.  Led brilliantly by Ben Howlett and Ben Hancock we clawed our way back into the game... and we were two men down as well with Zach Rankin out with a bad ankle injury and Tyler Nesbitt out with broken ribs… the performance in the second half was outstanding.

We made changes.

Watson back from forward, Sears to play second ruck, O’Driscoll to the wing, Hough back, Hancock and Western into the middle, Thorne and Bell more forward.

Our six-goals to one-goal third quarter gave us a sniff… and our last quarter four-goals to one-goal nearly gave us the win.

I was so proud of the team.

To mention some great efforts-

Sandy Brock – kept Sokol to two-goals

Brodie Lake – Kept Nick Martin very quiet

Lloyd Meek – dominated Lachie Delahunty

Ben Howlett – really strong up forward all day

Ryan Bennell – came to the fore after half time with his speed

Joel Western – his speed and ball use a highlight after half time

Mitch Crowden – strong in the contest and used the ball well

Brady Hough – outstanding game in his debut

Tyrone Thorne – our best player all year was dynamite all day

Ben Hancock – solid in defence then controlled the midfield after half time

Bodie Kitchingman- Class and finished strongly

Blair Bell – a beacon in the forward line

Brayden Lawler – a really solid performance topped off with a goal

Jack Sears – marked beautifully and finished well, even took on ruck duties.

Stef Giro – strong finish to the year

Jackson Merrett – organised the midfield structurally

Traye Bennell – after an average first half dug deep and played strongly in second half

Tobe Watson – Good all day, very reliable in backline after half time

James Sturrock – finished the game really well

Nathan O’Driscoll – strong and physical then came to life in second half with an important goal

Zach Rankin – hurt early in game

Tyler Nesbitt – had an impact until he was crunched and could not continue

Special mention to both Ben Howlett and Corey Morris whom announced their retirements…..wonderful lads.

Special thanks go to all my assistant coaches in Mark Tilbury, Mick Glassborough, Shannon Cole, Adam Read, Tendai Mzungu and Joel Corey.

To Matt Bagg and his medical team thanks!

To Matt Rosa and Joe Brierty thanks for your support throughout the season.

To Neil Doherty the team manager you do a great job…thanks.

To Bob Ryan and his Board, and Paul Lekias the CEO again I would like to extend my sincere appreciation of the relationships we have formed.  To Peter Bell and Simon Garlick and the Fremantle Football Club family I thank everyone.

We have managed to do what many in alignments have not been able to achieve… win Premierships.

To all the players whom have pulled on the Peel jumper from 2013 to 2021 I have loved the time and appreciate their efforts.

To the players and support staff our all-conquering 2016 and 2017 Premierships those days will go down in history.  We dared to be GREAT and achieved !

To my family, wife Shauna and kids Macca, Jesse, Maddy and Judd I thank you not only for your belief in me but your never ending uncomplicated love.

OVER and OUT

Shep

 

RESERVES

Peel Thunder Senior Development 2.2 (14) Def by Subiaco 23.9 (147)

As the sun ultimately set on season 2021 it is difficult to not let the disappointment of our effort in the final round overshadow some of the great work of our young brigade this season. No doubt, we were comprehensively beaten by the lions this week and were embarrassed to send off club champion Corey Morris in that fashion, but ultimately the finish line was just proved to be a bit too far for our squad who are made up mostly of players who are all coming off very limited if no football in 2020 or straight out of colts or community football in 2020.  This weeks result was a further lesson that a WAFL season is a marathon, not a sprint and we must show up every week ready to compete at the highest level or face annihilation.

If we are to truly judge the success of our senior development program in 2021 we must understand the purpose of this team. 

In 2021, we engaged with our community football clubs and the bank of local footballers in and around Peel better then ever which culminated in five players who were given opportunity to join our program in the middle of the season ultimately be given the honour of representing Peel in 2021 and all did a marvellous job and showed they will be players of the future at this level.  These players included Luen Colton (SHDFC), Kane Johnston (HBFC) Owen Davidson (RRFC), Kyle Penny (MMFC) and Tyler Nesbitt (SMFC) with the latter being promoted to our league team after three-games and performing very strongly.  In addition to this we also took great pride in giving opportunity to players who had not been involved in a WAFL talent program before in Zach Trevena (PWFC) Travis Sexton (HHFC) Ryan Warfe and Sandy Brock (Palmerston) and Nick Harris (PWFC). 

These players all provided great support in addition to our colts graduates and first year senior players that have come through Peels Talent program and while we were proven to have a long way to go before being where we want, the positive news is we stuck it out together and didn’t succumb to the lures of returning to easier level of football.  Something that I think will stand us in great stead going forward.  Our ultimate goal is to provide footballers with the best opportunity to play WAFL League football and in 2021 we saw seven-league debutants come through our senior development program in addition we also welcomed Brandon Walker, Leno Thomas, Darcy Tucker and Stephen Hill into our side throughout the year to help drive their individual AFL careers next phase. Something we are very proud of. 

Ultimately Saturday was a disappointing finish to what was ultimately a dissapointing season however, its the harshest lessons that stick in our minds the longest, and we will remember season 2021 as the year that we started building the future of our football club. I am enormously proud of being the Senior Development coach at the Peel Thunder Football Club and will continue to be into the future. I will in time give thanks to all those who helped us along the way in person as the list is way too long to publish here. But if you, in some small way helped out program in 2021, know that I appreciate it very much, and you will not be forgotten. 

See you all again in 2022. 

Shannon Cole.

 

COLTS

Peel Thunder 10.10 (70) defeated Subiaco 8.7 (55)

With finals a non-event for all three grades this year it was a day for respect and looking toward 2022 for Peel as they took on Subiaco at David Grays Aren. On a morning with perfect conditions seventh took on eighth to see if ladder positions would flip or stay the same to end 2021.

The match began with Peel well on top thanks to the clean ball use from the midfield. Unfortunately, the connect with forwards was slightly off and combined with a 50-metre penalty that Subiaco converted into a goal, the score was closer at quarter than the play suggested.

Quarter two saw the Lions take the ascendency from the Thunder and kick away on the scoreboard as well, taking a 17-point lead into half time. Peel returned to bad habits with plenty of fumbles leading to turnovers and Subiaco cashed in!

Still confident in taking the four points, Peel went to work early in the third in an attempt to put a dent in the half time deficit and succeeded with a 3.3 to 1.2 quarter and going into the last almost on level terms.

The final quarter would be a grind early with both teams putting their all into securing their final four points of the season. Ultimately, Peel would prove more polished and a four-goal to one-term would see the Thunder take the four points and finish the season in seventh and only percentage from taking sixth. A season that with a little more luck could have resulted in a finals berth, but unfortunately there are no do-overs and while winning three out of the last four games is good, it was a matter of too little too late for the Thunder.

The last game of the season saw some superb efforts from several players. Here’s some of them:

1. Scott Tuia – led from the front yet again. When the team is up and about, he is going well, and when the team needs someone to stand up when challenged he does the same. Been Mr. Consistent for most of the season and another 20+ possession game and goal from him puts a stamp on a very good season.

2. Michael Sellwood – another mid who has added another dimension to the team since returning with his hard running and attack from both an offensive and defensive point of view. Twenty-eight touches and nine-tackles are a direct reflection of this.

3. Tye Salter – the size of a medium forward but plays like a key, Tye found it a little tough in the first half, but his perseverance served him well when the game opened up and allowed him to kick a team high three goals and accumulate 15 possessions.

4. Tristan Bryce – was super clean with his hands and took a number of intercept marks. If he can match his skill level with his attack on the ball, he could go another level as a footballer in 2022.

5. Joel Rush – the medium forward role can be a difficult one to play but Joel has slowly grown into the role over the last few weeks and has caught the eye with some clean hands and quality ball use. The improvement in his defensive game has also been noted with six-tackles against Subiaco. Adding an extra string to his bow every week, he again hit the scoreboard with a goal to go along with his 12-possessions.

Season 2021 ended for Peel with a 6-10 record and a percentage of 79.82, having them finish in seventh. Winning three out of the last four shows there a positive signs of growth both collectively and individually for the Thunder, so while the finals will be spent looking from the sideline there is excitement around where this team will go in 2022.