Peel Thunder were narrowly defeated by East Fremantle 12.16 (88) to 12.5 (77) at the WACA ground on Saturday afternoon.

Ten Fremantle-listed players were in action as Peel played their first-ever league WAFL game at the venue and looked to hold their spot in the top five.

A 50-metre penalty early gave the Sharks the first goal of the game as they looked to kick away early; however, defenders Joel Hamling and Nathan Wilson worked hard in defence for Peel, denying the East Fremantle forwards any easy shots on goal while also taking some timely intercept marks.

After kicking two consecutive goals midway through the term, East Fremantle’s inaccuracy in front of goal denied them any momentum as Darcy Tucker kicked truly for the Thunder late in the term to help reduce the margin back to nine points at quarter time.

With no Sam Sturt or Josh Treacy for the first time this season, Peel struggled to take marks inside 50 early. Senior Coach Geoff Valentine urged his players at the quarter-time address to give decent aerial supply to the forward line.

Peel came out firing in the second quarter and responded to the coach’s pleas, scoring the first goal in the opening minute and booting three straight in the opening six minutes, giving them a nine-point lead.

East Fremantle then kicked three goals of their own to wrestle the lead back midway through the quarter and stretched their lead out to 10 points before Peel slammed the next four on the scoreboard, including goals to Tucker, Sebit Kuek, and Karl Worner, giving the Thunder a 13-point lead at the main break.

Accuracy and efficiency proved vital for the Thunder in the second quarter, kicking 7.1 to the Sharks 3.3, despite having 10 less inside 50s.

Midfielder Connor Blakely worked hard in and around the contest finishing the first half with 16 disposals, as did Darcy Tucker, who had three goals to his name.

Scoring slowed dramatically in the third term as both sides looked to put defensive pressure on each other.

East Fremantle kicked the first goal of the third term at the 10-minute mark to break the deadlock before finishing the quarter with 2.4 compared to Peel’s 0.1, denying the Thunder a goal and entering the final change with a three-point lead.

In his second game back from injury, Joel Western looked lively with some line-breaking bursts of speed, as did young Docker Matthew Johnson, who entered the final break with an impressive 20 disposals, five marks and three inside 50s.

The Thunder looked to be a winner as Neil Erasmus’ goal put the Thunder back in front early in the last quarter, but it wasn’t to be for Peel as the home team gained all the momentum to kick the next four goals of the game giving them an 11-point margin at the final siren.

Defender Nathan Wilson finished his game with 20 disposals and six marks, while Neil Erasmus had 24 disposals, four tackles and a goal.

At the conclusion of round 10, Peel sits sixth on the ladder with a record of five wins and five losses as the league enters a competition-wide bye round. 

The Thunder will return on Saturday 9 July against the West Perth Falcons in Joondalup.

PEEL THUNDER  2.3  9.4  9.5  12.5 (77)
EAST FREMANTLE  3.6  6.9  8.13  12.16 (88)

GOALS
PEEL THUNDER B Bell 3, D Tucker 3, T Anderson, N Erasmus, S Kuek, H Matthews, B Middleton, K Worner
EAST FREMANTLE J Jansen 3, L English 2, J Marsh 2, B Boekhorst, T Bennett, M Burton, R Lester-Smith, R McGuire

BEST
PEEL THUNDER M Johnson, N Wilson, J Hamling, H Matthews, B Bell, C Blakely, D Tucker, N Erasmus
EAST FREMANTLE B Boekhorst, L English, R Lester-Smith, M Murdock, J Jansen, J Goddard

Player stats:

Reserves: