Clancee Pearce continues to build on his solid form in the WAFL gathering 35 disposals in Peel Thunder’s 17-point loss to West Perth on Saturday at HBF Arena.
The 25-year-old had 30 touches last week in his return from a hamstring injury and backed up his performance against the Falcons with another sound display off half back in wet and windy conditions.
WAFL Watch player stats: Saturday 7 May
Fremantle rookie Tanner Smith said Pearce leads by example.
“He’s a real leader at the club… you know, coming off an injury and rehab, he’s really had a big impact at Peel, a real good leader and really shows from the front,” he said.
Anthony Morabito was among Peel’s best before injuring his hamstring late in the game.
This is the Fremantle’s utility second hamstring this year however coach Ross Lyon said it was only a “lower grade” injury.
In a match dominated by handling errors, Pearce and midfielder Ed Langdon (30 disposals, 5 marks) worked tirelessly through the middle of the ground, but it wasn’t enough as the Falcons adjusted better to the wet conditions.
“It was a bit of a slippery deck with the footy, we played a bit of straight line footy, overused the handball and turned the ball over a bit which really hurt us,” Smith said.
Smith offered an option up front, kicking two goals and leading well across the half-forward line, while Zac Clarke dominated in the ruck with 33 hit-outs.
Brady Grey showed great pressure around the contest with seven tackles, while Darcy Tucker ran hard across the wing, collecting 21 disposals and using the ball well.
Peel Thunder made the early running in the wet and wild conditions, trapping West Perth in their defensive 50, but were unable to make their dominance felt on the scoreboard, kicking three behinds in the opening 10 minutes, before athletic forward Smith slotted the first major of the match with a long-range effort.
The ruck combination of Clarke and Jack Hannath (13 hit-outs) took control as the quarter went on, but West Perth made the most of limited attacking opportunities, hitting back with two late goals to go into the first break with a two-point lead.
With the sun poking through the clouds, Peel’s lack of discipline cost them an early goal, as West Perth’s Andrew Strijk converted a 50-metre penalty to open up an eight-point lead.
Kicking with a strong south westerly, the Falcons pegged the Thunder deep in their defence half, as Peel dropped Matt Uebergang into full-back in an attempt to stem the tide, before Rory O’Brien converted to bring the margin back to three points.
Peel failed to capitalise on their attacking pressure, going into the main break trailing by a kick.
West Perth worked hard to consolidate their lead, kicking the first to open up a twelve-point lead.
Smith toiled as the Thunder’s target man, snapping his second of the game to keep the Thunder in touch as clean possession proved hard to come by before defender Sam Collins converted a rare opportunity as Peel hit the front just before the break.
West Perth regained the lead early in the final term through Kody Manning, as the Thunder put an extra man behind the ball in an attempt to negate the breeze. The Falcons kicked three unanswered goals as they stretched the margin, closing out the game 8.10 (58) to Peel Thunder’s 5.11 (41).
Smith said the team were disappointed with the performance.
“We came off a good game against Perth and we really wanted to back that up again this week against West Perth.
“We had a good first half, we thought we competed really well, but in the second half it dropped off.
“We’ll review our game first and see where we can improve”.
The Thunder will look to bounce back against South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval next Saturday.
Peel Thunder: 1.5 2.7 4.10 5.11 (41)
West Perth: 2.1 3.7 4.8 8.10 (58)
Goals:
Peel Thunder: Tanner Smith (2), Sam Collins, Calvin Thorne, Rory O’Brien
West Perth: Andrew Strijk (2), Koby Manning (2), Trent Manzone, Steven Browne, Michael Lourey, Luke Meadows
