Peel Thunder had a nail-biting 12-point win over East Fremantle at Rushton Park on Good Friday.
The lead changed hands five times in an intense final quarter before the Thunder kicked the final two goals to run out the game 12.13 (85) to 11.7 (73).
Bailey Banfield was best on ground with 31 disposals to go with his two goals and eight tackles, closely followed by Brett Bewley and Lachie Schultz who had 56 touches and 15 tackles between them.
Speaking after his second WAFL game for the Thunder, Bewley said that he was happy with the hard-fought win.
“It was a pretty good win,” he said.
“We were down at every quarter so to come back and win by just over a goal was pretty good.”
East Fremantle burst out of the blocks in the opening term, taking full advantage of the strong win to lead by 18 points at quarter-time.
Peel’s intense tackling pressure, the Thunder chipped away at the Sharks’ lead to head into the main break 11 points down.
Tempers flared over as the siren sounded at half-time, with almost every player from both teams involved in a scuffle near the boundary, something Thunder coach Cam Shepherd spoke about during the break.
“He just wanted to make sure we came out and focussed on the ball,” Bewley said.
Peel came out renewed in the second half, taking full advantage of the dying wind to get the margin back to just three points at the final change before running the Sharks over in the final term.
With two wins now under their belt, the Thunder now turn their attention to reigning premiers Subiaco, who have gone undefeated so far in 2019.
The game begins at 2.15pm on Saturday 27 April at Leederville Oval.