A WITHERING last quarter from Subiaco's George Hampson helped the Lions snatch a 26-point win over Peel Thunder at Medibank Stadium on Saturday.
In a tight, low-scoring contest, it was Hampson who broke the game open in the final quarter with four goals to steer the Lions to a 11.18 (84) to 7.16 (58) win.
The Thunder took the fight up to the finals-bound Lions in the first quarter, putting in a strong showing at the coalface but were unable to impact the scoreboard.
Inaccuracy plagued both sides in the opening half as they traded behinds and were unable to establish ascendancy.
Anthony Morabito was again prominent for the Thunder with a team-leading 24 disposals, while Tom Sheridan was prolific with 17 possessions in just over a half of football.
With the game hanging by a thread early in the last quarter Peel showed strong signs early in the last quarter, but it was Hampson that broke the game open.?
Sam Menegola was given the job of minding Hampson and kept the livewire quiet for three quarters, but a wonderful act of bravery saw Menegola come off concussed, which freed Hampson up to impact the scoreboard.
Laine Wilkins showed his enormous potential for Peel with exquisite field kicking, but failed to translate that into scoreboard pressure with four behinds.
Scott Gumbleton was also sloppy in front of goal with four behinds, while Subiaco’s Shane Yarran trumped both players kicking 1.6 for the day.
Peel coach Cam Shepherd said while he was pleased with his side’s effort in the first half, the Thunder rued missed opportunities.
“We had the better of the contest in the first half with our clearance work, and we felt our forwards worked well together, but we didn’t get reward for effort,” he said.
Despite inaccuracy from Wilkins and Gumbleton, Shepherd praised the duo’s effort to create opportunities, with special emphasis on Wilkins, who at 19 is a product of the AIS-AFL Academy 2011 intake.
“Wilkins is a talented boy who is a strong runner and an elite user of the ball, we’re working on a couple of areas to make him more complete as a player,” Shepherd said.
Peel only managed 38 inside 50s for the game for 21 scoring shots, illustrating the Thunder’s efficiency going inside 50.
But Shepherd lamented the side’s lapses of pressure, recording a paltry 28 tackles for the game.
“That was very disappointing from our point of view, the effort didn’t translate into pressure acts and tackles, and we will be addressing that during the week,” he said.
Peel face an in-form East Perth on Saturday 5 July at Medibank Stadium.
