Peel Thunder’s finals hopes have suffered a blow after an eight-point loss to Claremont at Claremont Oval on Saturday.
The Thunder led at every break before eventually succumbing to Claremont’s final term pressure, finishing at 11.6 (72) to the Tigers 12.8 (80).
Fremantle ruckman Lloyd Meek said it was unfortunate Peel wasn’t able to secure a win.
“It’s never easy to come off such a tight battle like that when it means so much to both clubs and when we are both fighting for a spot at finals,” he said.
After a tight first term, the Thunder gained control through fast and effective disposals.
However, Meek admitted his team should have slowed it down during certain points of the match.
“(Hugh) Dixon and (Luke) Strnadica were both dominant but unfortunately, in the second half we just couldn’t get it in to them as much,” he said.
“We were using quick ball movement, which was working but it was hard to sustain that tempo for the whole match.
“It would have been nice to slow it down and play tempo footy towards the end.”
In the third term the Tigers fought back, kicking two goals within the first three minutes putting pressure on the backline.
Meek praised the efforts of Ethan Hughes but admits he was put under a fair amount of pressure during the final term.
“Ethan Hughes and Jordan Boullineau are both really good at marking, you can trust that those boys will play really good every week,” he said.
“Unfortunately, when it gets late in the game and the midfield start getting out-run, then the backs just start getting put under the pump more and more.”
By the fourth term, the Thunder had lost momentum as Claremont went on to seal the victory, after kicking seven goals to two in the second half.
Meek said Dixon, who kicked three goals in five minutes during the second term, played incredibly well.
“He is a great young player that has a got lot of potential. I think that we will be looking to him in the future, he’s going to be a dominate player,” he said.
Meek said the Thunder remained positive about their finals chances with a final game against East Perth set to determine the WAFL top five.
“We beat them the other week by 20 or 30 points and we know we can do it,” he said.
“All we can do is control our effort next week and get the win and, hopefully, play finals or give it maximum effort and know that we gave it our all this year.”
Peel Thunder face East Perth at Rushton Park at 2:15pm on Saturday 25 August.
