After playing 11 games for Peel Thunder so far this season, Freo rookie Jacob Ballard said he is adapting to playing footy in the West.
Ballard, who came to the club via the 2013 Rookie Draft with pick 47, had previously played for the Northern Blues in the VFL.
“It’s been a bit different playing in the WAFL,” Ballard said.
“That’s probably due to the grounds being a lot bigger over here compared to Victoria, which means the WAFL games are more of a running game with less stoppages.
“I think I am starting to adjust and playing some alright football.”
The 20-year-old has been working with development coach Marc Webb on improving his skills and learning team structures.
“That’s the main thing I have been working on since coming to the club, especially my kicking,” Ballard said.
“So I’ll keep working on that and my knowledge of the game plan, that’s the big one.
“Learning the game plan was hard at the start, but I am starting to learn my way through that now.”
Ballard sits with Webb weekly after each Peel game to review vision from the weekend.
“One of his big focuses is the game plan and the team defence, he always has lots of vision of me to look at, some positive, some not so positive,” Ballard said.
“We talk it through and he shows me where I can improve.”
The Thunder haven’t had much success with wins this season but Ballard said the feeling amongst the players is still positive.
“Even though we haven’t had the success in terms of winning we feel like we have been competitive in pretty much every game,” he said.
“When we play our best football we know we can match it with anyone, it’s just getting the consistency and playing four quarters.”
Peel face an in-form East Perth this Saturday at Medibank Stadium at 2.05pm.
The last time Peel played the Royals was in round one, when Peel was defeated by 19 points.
“I didn’t play in round 1 against East Perth but I remember watching and it was a fairly close game,” Ballard said.
“The main challenge for us this weekend is playing to the best of our ability for the whole four quarters.”
