WEEKLY REVIEW | FUTURES ROUND 6

The 6^th and final round of the Futures fixtures saw Peel host Perth at Lane Group Stadium on Friday night April 14^th as a curtain raiser to the Colts game. The addition of 3 more of their South West based players allowed Peel to expose a total of 12 of their regional players to the surrounds and experience of being involved with the football club and talent program.

Peel were looking to break their losing streak and post a win to round out the season on a night that was a bit cooler and had a 2-3 goal breeze blowing from the South. Peel jumped out of the blocks and hit the scoreboard first thanks to Lattrel May’s mark and subsequent goal in the 1^st minute of the game. As the quarter went on, Perth were able to add 3 goals with the aid of the breeze and a big inside 50 ascendency.

Peel were looking to make the most of the breeze in the 2^nd quarter but were on the back foot with Perth kicking a further 3 unanswered goals to extend their lead above 30 points midway through the term. Saul McCann made the most of a loose ball, deep in the pocket and snapped truly to provide Peel their only goal of the quarter and head into the main break with a 25 point deficit and plenty to think about.

The trend of Peel’s poor 3^rd quarters throughout their games continued to hold true and again, Perth were able to break free of their opponents and pile on 4 goals to 2 for the term to lead by 40 points going into the last.

During the final break, Peel’s players reflected on the massive amount of work that they had put in over the entire pre-season and went back out with their “No Regrets” theme for the week as the spur to push for a win.

It appeared that this mindset had sparked the fire within and Peel set out on a hot streak of 4 unanswered goals in the first 8 minutes of the quarter to reduce the margin to just 15 points with 15 minutes to play. Kye Sarich converted his high flying mark for a goal while Noah Midani, John Cox and Jye Wearing all kicked goals on the back of some real belief across all of Peel’s players. A quick reply from Perth increased the margin but Peel still had some fight left in them. Repeated efforts and inside 50’s for the remainder of the quarter from Peel didn’t produce any more goals but Peel were able to win the quarter 4.7 to 1.1 only to fall short by 16 points as the final siren sounded.

Whilst the win wasn’t there for Peel, the “No Regrets” attitude held true and Peel could hold their heads high in defeat as they left the field.

At the conclusion of play, Peel hosted Perth’s players and staff in the rooms for some pizza, cool drinks and good old-fashioned sportsmanship.

Peel’s players of note were:

Mathew Becker who took numerous marks and provided good drive across half back.

Noah Midani who repelled from half back and kicked 2 goals after moving into forward and ruck roles.

Tyson Black who had his best game as a bottom ager and will benefit from the extra year in the futures program.

Mitchell Van Nus who showed strength and maturity in his inside mid role.

As this is was the final game for the Futures, the squad will host its Ben Howlett medal on Thursday 20^th April to acknowledge the achievements within the program and to also thank all of those involved that made it a success.