PREMIERSHIP GLORY WITH COACH CAM SHEPHERD

The last game of Australian Rules ever to be played at Subiaco Oval (Domain Stadium) was an intense and physical encounter. Two evenly matched teams with great pride. There was only to be one winner, and that was to be Peel Thunder FC. The youngest club in the competition had won Back to Back premierships.
 
The teams resolve and ability to work together for the common cause was evident throughout the battle.
 
The first quarter erupted at a frenetic pace with Peel getting an early break, scoring the first two goals through Dawson and Ugle  before the rain set in. With the rain came the stoppages. Sean Darcy started to exert his influence and Danyle Pearce was effective in surging the ball forward. 

At Quarter time Peel held a lead of under a goal and the game was bound to be a battlefield.  Peel suffered the loss of Zac Dawson with a serious leg injury and were a man down midway through the first quarter which was magnified as Josh Deluca suffered  a massive cork to his thigh which limited his ability to run at speed.   Peel were under siege with 3 quarters still to play.

The second quarter remained an arm wrestle and a half time Peel held a slender lead of 3 points. 
 
The third quarter was dominated for the first 20 minutes by Subiaco and whilst their kicking in front of goal let them down, many of their shots were under extreme pressure from the relentless Peel defence led by Ryan, Nyhuis,Ibbotson and Bennell.  With Peel down 13 points late in Q3 they managed two late goals, one a Josh Deluca snap and another from a Taberner mark following a clear centre clearance from D.Pearce.  Peel were well and truly back in the game at 3 Q time.
 
The last quarter is one to remember. The coach asked for the players to aspire to Greatness and not one wavered in their resolve. Bodies were thrown on the line. The side defended bravely and heroics were consistently observed. Goals to Duman following a excellent pass from Taberner as well as unbelievable set shot snaps from Sheridan and Jetta put Peel in the position to win an epic game.  Trademark efforts from O’Brien, Sutcliffe, Suban, Collins, Darcy, Cox, Nyhuis(completely blanketing Liam Ryan) and Luke Ryan were memorable.

The last quarter from Danyle Pearce was outstanding. Smothering from Ugle, Lawler, Hancock and Bell inspiring. Every player just stood up and wanted to achieve. Like Suban’s 15 tackles and Lawler's 10 tackles the effort across the board had been glorious.
 
The last goal to Logue iced the game on the siren and the celebrations began and were well deserved.
 
As coach I could not have wished for a better result. Hard fought and under siege this group had achieved the ultimate…….Premiership Glory.

BACK TO BACK.
 
Cam Shepherd