WAFL ROUND 13 REVIEW | SUBIACO

LEAGUE

Peel Thunder's Saturday match-up against 4th placed Subaico added to the growing list of clashes with strong second-half finishes, Thunder kicked the final two goals of the afternoon to defeat Subiaco by 14 points at their home ground.

The match was a highly anticipated battle for third position on the WAFL ladder, both teams delivered a hard-fought affair exchanging the lead multiple times throughout the afternoon.

Sebit Kuek played a pivotal role for Peel Thunder, engaging in a fascinating battle with Subiaco's Galen Savigni throughout the match. Kuek made a significant impact, kicking two goals from eight kicks and recording seven marks. Ethan Stanley also contributed two goals for Peel Thunder, alongside his 18 possessions.

Peel Thunder's captain, Ben Hancock, continued his run of form in 2023 as he approaches his 150-game milestone. Hancock led by example on the day, accumulating 27 possessions, nine marks, and seven tackles. Corey Wagner also had a notable performance, gathering 24 touches, while Nathan Wilson recorded 21 possessions. Blair Bell again imposed himself on the game with 20 disposals.

Subiaco's Ben Golding was their only multiple goalscorer as Peel Thunder's back-line, featuring Joel Hamling, Jacob Blight, and Hugh Davies, effectively neutralizing the threats posed by Jack Mayo, Ryan Borchet, and Ben Sokol, holding them to one goal each.

The clash between these two in-form teams lived up to its billing, with Peel Thunder opening the scoring after 14 minutes through Sebit Kuek. Subiaco quickly responded, establishing an eight-point lead by quarter-time.

In the second quarter, Subiaco once again had the last say, as Ben Sokol and Ben Golding added goals to their tally to gift Subiaco an 11-point advantage at halftime.

League coach Geoff Valentine once again rallied the troops with the Thunder coming out determined to give Subiaco a second-half show at their home ground.

Peel Thunder kicked the opening goal in the third, courtesy of ruckman Liam Reidy. Kuek followed up with a major of his own to bring the score level between the two sides. Ethan Stanley sold some candy, leaving Subiacos Max Walters to watch as Stanley secured Thunders six-point lead heading into the final term.

Peel Thunder continued their resurgence in the final quarter, as Blair Bell opened the scoring. However, Subiaco fought back fiercely, with quick goals from Zac Clarke and Ryan Borchet, reclaiming the lead at the 17-minute mark.

Peel Thunder responded calmly as the clock ticked away, scoring the last two goals of the game through Stanley and Bailey Banfield. Their determined effort secured a 14-point victory for Peel Thunder, solidifying their position in third spot and bumping Subiaco down to 5th.

Peels Reserves were unable to get revenge for their loss at home to Subiaco earlier this season. Subiaco continued to widen their lead between each term, eventually turning out as, 11.7 (73) to 3.13 (31) victors

James Sturrock picked up 24 possessions and 13 tackles for Peel with Guy Barnes ending up with 21 touches, Jacob Hewitt 19 and Kyren Gavin 18.

COLTS

Peel 6.10 46 def by Subiaco 9.19 73

A quick turnaround with only a month between matches between these two sides gave the Thunder a chance to see how much they’ve improved over the short term against an in-form Lions side, who sit pretty inside the top three.

The game itself saw a lot of pressure applied by Subiaco and a lot of absorbing from the visitors. The 54 to 26 inside 50 count would attest to that. Despite this, the Thunder managed to play some exciting football and challenge Subiaco at various stages. Yet again the inability to win contested ball combined with the polish to finish allowed the home team to take a 27-point victory, a slightly improved on the 29-point result from a month ago.

The Good

• The Q4 Lockdown Continues – For the second week in a row the Thunder would keep the opposition goalless in the final stanza. We seem to be running out games better, which is a positive for the psyche of our young squad.
• Defence – Another recurring theme this week with our defence doing their bit to keep us in games. 54 inside 50’s put us under plenty of pressure but it was pleasing to see the desperation to not allow easy scores in conjunction with some very willing attacking plays, particularly from kick-in. Will Dimasi and Jesse Grant really lead from the front in this regard.
• Joel Rush – A game-high 19 possessions and a goal from one of our on-field leaders. Softly spoken but hard at all contests, he was always involved when we were playing our best football. Will be rewarded with a promotion into the senior program this week.

The Bad

• Third Quarter Lapses – Yet again one-quarter of average football allowed Subiaco all the latitude it needed to kick away. Unfortunately, after halftime, we hit snooze mode and allowed a five-goal quarter. When you only allow four in the other three it makes this lapse seem even more disappointing.

The ledger moves to 3-8 as we head towards a group of winnable games against teams that are placed around us. With finals improbable, rather than impossible we should be aiming to play four consistent quarters of football in terms of skill execution and more importantly, effort. If we keep these things at the forefront of our mind there is no reason we can’t put more ticks into the win column as we progress through the home stretch of our season.

Next up. East Fremantle on neutral ground at Revo Stadium this Sunday.