WAFL ROUND 12 REVIEW | SOUTH FREMANTLE

LEAGUE

Peel Thunder, in a thrilling comeback, kicked the last five goals of the game to secure a remarkable 12-point victory over South Fremantle. The match, which took place at home for Peel Thunder on Saturday, witnessed a dramatic turnaround as they overcame a 20-point deficit.

South Fremantle came out strong and opened their account with a goal within the first minute of the game via Matthew Parker. Ethan Stanly made a swift reply for Peel, slotting a set shot minutes later. The remainder of the first quarter was mostly Freo as they put away 4 unanswered goals before a set shot from Bailey Banfield closed out the first half.

After a slow start to the afternoon, Peel Thunder began to capitalise on South Fremantle's inability to score, mounting a fierce comeback. Peel unleashed a powerful display in the latter stages of the game. In the final term, Peel Thunder continued their relentless push, kicking the only three goals of the quarter. Michael Sellwood set up Former Bulldog Traye Benell for what would be the final goal of the afternoon, completing Peel's comeback and solidifying the victory with a final score of 10.14 (74) to 9.8 (62). The triumph consolidated Peel Thunder's hold on third position in the WAFL standings, boasting an impressive 8-3 record.

Travis Colyer played a crucial role for Peel Thunder, emerging as their only multiple-goal scorer in the game, contributing two goals along with 15 touches and six marks. The team showcased their depth in goal-scoring ability, with eight other players also finding majors. Dual premiership player Blair Bell also proved vital to the comeback, finishing with 23 touches and seven inside-50 entries.

The Thunder also witnessed standout performances from Will Brodie, who collected 20 disposals, Bailey Banfield with 19, Brady Grey with 16, Traye Bennell with 14, and key defender Joel Hamling, who gathered 14 disposals along with seven marks, showcasing his strong form.

RESERVES

The Peel Reserves were unable to continue their win streak last Saturday against South Fremantle shouldering a 16-point defeat. It was a tightly contested match that saw tempers flaring at Lane Group Stadium. Peel came out of the blocks slow in the first quarter, managing a solitary goal to Fremantle's 3. The second quarter was a different story with Peel's defence playing with intent to hold Fremantle to 1 goal, the defensive intensity transferred to the rest of the team with Peel kicking four themselves to end the first half with a narrow 4 point lead. Accurate kicking saw Fremantle put away 9 majors and a single behind in the final half of the match to pull away as the victors despite Peels continued intensity throughout the pitch.

Corey Tregenza kicked five goals for Peel and Brody Wemm three with James Sturrock finishing with 25 touches, Haydn Matthews 20, Kyren Gavin 20, Taj Wyburd 19 and Hugh Davies 19.

COLTS

Our second serving against South Fremantle comes after a well-earned bye and a block of games against the competition's top three teams. The last time these two sides played was back in round two where a last-second behind gave the Thunder their first win of the year. Since then the team has only banked one win and this contest would pit two teams hungry for victory after the Bulldogs have only one win to show from their 2023 campaign.

The game itself was an arm wrestle with the home team being efficient with their forward 50 entries while absorbing repeated South Fremantle forward 50 entries. The final quarter would prove to be the difference with the Thunder kicking 4.5 to 0.0 and coming away with a well-earned 19-point victory.

The Good

• Q4 – Down by 10 points at 3QT could have seen the game go either way, but a steely resolve from the Thunder saw them take complete control of the final stanza, kicking 4.5 to 0.0.
• Defence – The defence has copped plenty of entries in the last month, but the defining difference this week was denying the opposition scoring opportunities. With South Fremantle having 47 inside 50’s for only 15 scoring shots, it was a clear reflection of our stout defence. Intercept possessions and loose ball wins proved invaluable.
• Sharing the Load – In weeks gone by too much has been left to too few. This week showed that we are at our best when everyone contributes to the cause. Key midfield contributions from the likes of Joel Rush and Trent Brown to the defensive desperation of Jesse Grant and Matt Thomson, followed by ten individual goalkickers for the match show that it is truly 23 contributors that get the job done.

The Bad

• Injury – It is always unfortunate to lose players to any sort of injury, but to lose Jett Ward for a period of time after an early-game foot injury is disappointing. The fact that we were able to run over the opposition a player down is impressive in itself.

Peel 10.9 69 def South Fremantle 7.8 50

The record improves to 3-7 heading into the next three games within this block. With Subiaco, East Fremantle and East Perth in our sights, we are capable of taking it up to any team when our tenacity matches our belief. It all continues against a strong Subiaco outfit at Leederville this Saturday.