ROUND 8 - COLTS MATCH REVIEW PT V CL

The Peel Thunder Colts took on perennial colts powerhouse Claremont at Fremantle Oval on Saturday. Peel made 3 changes from the previous game, with Aaron Naughton returning from injury, Brandon Penny came back into the side, while James Sturrock made his debut for the club

The game commenced in slippery conditions with Claremont adapting the better in the early exchanges. Claremont were getting first hands on the ball early whilst Peel were tentative with their ball movement.   Claremont kicked the first 2 goals of the game and were putting tremendous pressure on the Peel defence, however a goal to Lachy Mitchell late in the quarter saw the Thunder hit the scoreboard for the first time.

The second quarter again was a real arm wrestle, with clean footy and open play rarely seen.  Jaidon Kearing kicked a fine set shot from the pocket to register the only score for the Thunder for the quarter, who went in at the main change down by 13 points 3-7 25 to 2-0 12.

The ground began to dry up and the footy became a lot more open after half time. Claremont had more winners around the ground than Peel over the 3rd quarter, who were struggling to find a way to score.  A snap by regular defender Brandon Gregory was the only goal scored by the Thunder for the quarter who could not find a way forward, while Claremont kicked 4 goals for the quarter to lead at the final change 7-9 51 to 3-3 21.

A few changes to the side and some quick ball movement forward saw Aaron Naughton kick the first 2 goals of the quarter to give the Thunder a sniff, however Claremont held firm and answered with 3 goals in the middle of the quarter to snuff out the Thunders chances. Late goals to Kyle Havelberg and Zac Moody saw the margin reduced to 21 points in a disappointing performance from the Thunder who were outworked and beaten in the contested ball by a hungry opposition side.

Final score was Claremont 10-10 70 to Peel Thunder 7-7 49.  Best players were Brad Oldfield who was strong down back and got his hands on the ball in the midfield, Aaron Naughton and Jordan Boullineau who won a lot of the football across half back, with Kyle Havelberg hard at the ball in and under and was clean with his hands in the conditions.

The Thunder have another huge game this Saturday against Swan Districts, who have been very impressive in the early stages of the competition. The game is at Bendigo Bank Stadium with an early start time of 8:25am.

John Deitz - Talent Manager