Consistent Peel continues fine form

By Ronan Fitzgerald and Smiley Mettam

Peel retained top spot on the WAFL ladder with a comfortable win over South Fremantle.

It was a tense affair for the round eight clash as Peel overcame South Fremantle by 44 points to retain top stop on the WAFL ladder.

Coming off the back of four straight wins, it didn’t take long for Peel to continue where they left off as Patrick Voss (five goals, 11 disposals) marked his authority with two goals in the opening five minutes.

The visitors settled and showcased slick ball movement, however, Peel’s defensive unit led by Jacob Blight (21 disposals, nine marks) and Hugh Davies (14 disposals, four marks) repelled the Bulldogs’ attack.

A back-and-forth first term saw neither side take ascendency, and go into the first change with two goals each.

Much like the first quarter, Patrick Voss opened the scoring in the second with a blast from beyond 50 metres.

He was soon joined by Sam Sturt (one goal, seven marks) who nailed a remarkable goal from deep in the pocket.

Wet conditions meant players began to fumble but allowed Peel’s physical midfield to further assert its authority.

After a stalemate period under heavy clouds, South Fremantle were punished for ill-discipline late in the quarter as Peel Captain Ben Hancock (24 disposals, one goal  was gifted a 50m penalty directly in front of goal. Minutes later teammate Jack Sears (14 disposals, one goal) sniped a low kick from the pocket to extend The Thunders lead into the break.

As tempers flared in the third term a Bulldogs’ brain fade caused a double 50-metre penalty that put Will Brodie in range to kick the first of the second half.

The game began to heat up with wars of words and minor scuffles breaking out between opponents, but the scoreboard slowed down as Peel failed to turn their territory dominance into goals.

A touch of class was needed, and Jack Delean (two goals, eight disposals) provided it as he nailed a set shot to push the Thunder’s advantage beyond five goals into the final break.

Peel approached the last quarter intending to take the sting out of the game, controlling possession early.

They continued to waste opportunities in front of goal until clever small-forward craft from Cooper Simpson (one goal, seven tackles) finally put the result beyond doubt.

Voss returned to kick two consecutive impressive goals to take his tally for the day to five.

South Fremantle kicked a handful of late consolation goals before Jack Delean’s second of the day on the stroke of full time topped off a complete performance by Peel.

The final score of 12.14 (86) to 6.6 (42) marks Peel’s fifth consecutive win and consolidates their position atop the WAFL ladder after eight rounds.

Peel will be searching for a sixth straight victory when they take on Claremont at Revo Fitness Stadium next Saturday afternoon.

Peel Thunder: 2.3 6.3 8.7 12.14 (86)

South Fremantle: 2.1 3.2 4.4 6.6 (42)

GOALS –

Peel Thunder: 5 P Voss, 2 J Delean, 1 W Brodie, B Hancock, J Sears, C Simpson, S Sturt

South Fremantle: 2 I Winder, 1 J Branchi, M Kelly, L Mitchell, H Schloithe

Images courtesy of Shazza J Photography