Peel Thunder have been dealt their third loss of the season at the hands of East Perth by 66 points at Leederville Oval.
After a tight first quarter the Thunder were taken apart by the Royals, resulting in a 21.8 (134) to 10.8 (68) loss.
In his first game against his old side, mature-age draftee Scott Jones admitted Peel’s late game fade-outs were a concern.
“It’s a continuing theme for us, we’ve just got to get a four-quarter effort,” he said.
Ryan Nyhuis kicked the first goal of the game, however the Royals kicked the next three and led for the rest of the game.
Just one goal for Peel in the second quarter meant the Thunder went into half time trailing by 35 points.
Jones said at half time the group spoke about coming out with a fresh attitude.
“We all got together at half time and came out with the mindset to really give it a crack and take it up to them,” he said.
A run of five goals early in the third quarter got Peel back within striking distance, however East Perth kicked away late to extend their lead to 36 at three-quarter time.
Jones said the burst of goals in the third was a positive sign but couldn’t be maintained.
“We came out really hard in the first half of the third quarter but unfortunately we just couldn’t get it going,” he said.
The Thunder were kept to just one goal in the final term as East Perth slotted six majors to run out 66-point winners.
Tommy Sheridan (29 disposals), Danyle Pearce (26 disposals) and Tom North (21 disposals) all found plenty of the ball, while Ryan Nyhuis and Luke Strnadica kicked two goals each.
Jones said Nyhuis played a vital role for the team in a number of positions.
“He’s a crafty player Ryan, whether it’s down back or up forward, he can really play anywhere.”
Michael Apeness played a mix of forward and ruck, dominating the hit outs with 37, as well as kicking a goal.
Shane Kersten played as a key back for the third week running and was named in the best.
Peel Thunder will look to get their season back on track against Claremont next Saturday 5 May at Rushton Park.
