To our amazing Peel Thunder family
Happy New Year to all of you and welcome to 2026. I trust that everyone had a great Christmas with their loved ones and the excitement is building for another year at Lane Group Stadium!
I wanted to provide some updates for you all on the back of closing out 2025 and heading into 2026 with a great deal of anticipation of what is ahead for us all here at the Club.
At our AGM in December, we were pleased to announce a small operating profit for the year, which consolidated the work that our Board and staff have been working tirelessly to manage over the past two years in building sustainability. This was proof that, although still with challenges, we are moving in the right direction when it comes to activating the venue and providing a quality experience for our members and guests at the Club.
We undertook a survey of members and supporters to gather feedback on how we are tracking in these areas, and we thank everyone that took the time to provide their honest assessment of where we are at right now. As a quick summary of some of the feedback:
85.9% of respondents were likely to renew their Peel Thunder Membership in 2026.
75% of respondents believed that the entry price for home games was value for money.
Responses to the question about ‘What Peel Thunder should introduce’, included:
– Greater acknowledgement of Player Sponsors
– Better catering offering on match days
– Greater activation at breaks during games
Reponses to the questions about ‘improving your experience at Peel Thunder’, included:
– Overall pricing strategy at Club events and discounts for members
– Events calendar released at the start of the year to allow for better planning
– Greater member engagement
– Creating a greater atmosphere at home games for both WAFLW and WAFL
I can assure everyone that all of the feedback received has been valuable and in some cases, already being implemented to continually improve what we do and how we do it.
With all of this, it cannot be left to a few, it will require everyone’s efforts in raising the delivery standard for a number of these things. As a Club, we are constantly trying to find ways to ensure affordability is a key decision making factor, but balancing this against sensible financial management is difficult.
It is imperative that our members and supporters continue to sign up, show up and get engaged in everything the Club has to offer. Through the strength of numbers, it enables greater investment into our Club, our people, our activations and is critical to our success.
As we commence 2026, the uptake on Memberships is lower than expected, support for the return of Thunder Fridays has been disappointing and as we near the start of footy again, it has an impact on how we plan match days and Club functions across the remainder of the year. To those that have already re-signed for 2026, thank you. To those that are thinking about it or yet to commit, we are confident that our Club provides the best value for money Membership in the competition, which presents a real cost saving along with the benefits that sit alongside it.
I encourage you all to get involved, share the positivity of our Club with everyone far and wide, and strap in for what should be a fantastic year. Keep an eye on our socials and website for regular updates about what is happening around Lane Group Stadium, and support our push to be the competition leader on and off the field.
GO THUNDER!
Paul Lekias
CEO