Trailing by as much as 44 points in the third term, Peel Thunder had an impressive comeback to defeat West Coast’s WAFL team by two points on Saturday at David Grays Arena.
Peel managed the win despite kicking one less goal on the day, prevailing 10.16 (76) to 11.8 (74) in a thriller.
Four Fremantle players were in action in the clash, with Stefan Giro racking up 26 disposals, the second most for Peel on the day.
Ethan Hughes (20 disposals, seven marks), Taylin Duman (22 disposals, five marks) and Reece Conca (15 disposals, four tackles) helped hold down the Thunder’s defence.
| # | PLAYER | K | H | D | M | T | HO | I50 | FF | FA | G | B |
| 42 | Stefan Giro | 13 | 13 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Taylin Duman | 19 | 3 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 38 | Ethan Hughes | 14 | 6 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Reece Conca | 10 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
With both teams out of finals contention, Hughes said the win still meant a lot with Peel and West Coast starting the round with four wins alongside Perth, who had the bye.
The win meant Peel moved a game and percentage clear from the bottom-placed West Coast with two rounds remaining in the regular season.
“We’ve really been chipping away each week throughout the whole year and it meant a lot to the whole club,” Hughes said.
“We want to finish up as high as we can on the ladder, and this win really helps that position.”
Hughes said Peel’s comeback came down to sticking with their process and having the momentum go their way after half time, where the Thunder kicked eight goals to two in the second half.
“I thought it was a great team effort from all the boys and it really contributed to the game plan that was set out today,” Hughes said.
“They executed their role and we finally got the momentum going in the second half.
“It was a real team effort. Our midfielders got on top in the second half. They really got it going and our forwards locked it in. (As defenders) we just tried to compliment that from behind the ball.”
Peel will finish the season with back-to-back games at David Grays Arena, playing Perth on Saturday 28 August and Subiaco on Saturday 4 September.
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