ROUND 17 - MATCH REVIEW WITH TALENT MANAGER JOHN DEITZ

In a frustrating performance, the Peel Thunder colts lost their 5th game of the year on Saturday against a tenacious East Perth side.

The colts were not without their chances, however could only manage 7.14 to East Perths 9.9 to go down by 7 points.

The game started well for the Thunder with Brynn Osborne kicking the first goal of the game for the second week in a row, followed by Alex Cohen converting a set shot from close range to go into the first break up 2.5 to 2.2.

After an early East Perth goal in the second quarter, the midfield led by Lachy Mitchell, Michael Randall and Kyle Havelberg started to get their hands on the ball. Combined with some strong defending from the likes of Durak Tucker and Ben Waddington, the Thunder started to control the game. Goals to Brandon Gregory, Randall, and a great kick from Ty Anderson saw the Thunder get out to a 17 point lead with 4 minutes to go in the 2nd term. A poor final 4 minutes however saw East Perth kick 2 late goals to reduce the margin to 5 points at the main change.

The 3rd quarter was a real arm wrestle with the pressure lifting and a lot of contested ball. The quarter was punctuated by skill errors as a result of the pressure around the ball. East Perth kicked 2 goals to the Thunders one (kicked by Lachy Cullen) for the quarter and scores were level heading into the last term.

Peel kicked the first of the last quarter through a set shot from Jarrad Fazioli, however that was to be the Thunders only major of the quarter. East Perth hit the lead with 4 minutes to go and remained there for the remainder of the game, with a goal in the last 5 seconds seeing the margin finish at 7 points.

A disappointing result for the Thunder, who have dropped to third place on the colts ladder with 5 games remaining in the season.

Better players were Lachy Mitchell with 25 possessions and 9 tackles through the midfield. Durak Tucker in his last game before returning to PSA duties for the next month across half back, Michael Randall and Kyle Havelberg were solid through the midfield, both with 6 clearances and 22 possessions, while Ben Waddington was steady in his role at full back.

Goal kickers were all singles to Anderson, Cullen, Cohen, Osborne, Gregory, Randall and Fazioli.

In a real positive for the colts program Aaron Naughton performed strongly in his league debut for the club, whilst Damon Cramer showed some real encouraging signs in his second league game. Jaidon Kearing also made his debut in the senior development side and had good impact as the game went on.

The colts face another tough opponent this week in Subiaco at Bendigo Bank Stadium with a 9:25am bounce down. It promises to be another close contest with 3rd playing 4th on the ladder. We look forward to seeing as many supporters as possible to cheer the boys on in a huge clash!

Written by: John Deitz - Talent Manager