RD 7 | Thunder succumb to Swans pressure

A RAMPANT Swan Districts has ended Peel Thunder’s winning streak with a thumping 47-point win at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday.

Despite sitting second on the ladder, Peel were no match for the seventh-placed Swans, who applied fanatical pressure from the outset to conjure a convincing 18.16 (124) to 11.11 (77) win.

The Thunder was bolstered by the return of forward Michael Apeness, while the Swans lost veteran spearhead Tim Geappen before the opening bounce.

The pressure applied by the home side made for a feverish opening quarter, with both sides struggling to maintain an advantage.

Defender Brady Grey was influential early, however his direct opponent Simon Donovan was also having an impact, with four scoring shots for two goals in the first term.

The Swans began to flex their muscle in the second quarter, pouncing on a bevy of errors from the Thunder to boot four unanswered goals, as the visitors struggled to make inroads.

Tom Sheridan and Lachie Weller managed to keep their side afloat in the midfield with 15 touches apiece for the first half, however the Peel midfield group struggled to gain ascendancy despite the opportunities provided by Jonathan Griffin in the ruck.

There were glimpses of Peel’s trademark rebounding run from defence, with a long Josh Bootsma kick finding Gerald Ugle who set up a stunning Leroy Jetta goal.

However similar passages were few and far in between, with the Swans maintaining a 28-point advantage at half time.

The pressure continued to mount on the Thunder in the third term, with Steven Wityk extending the margin to 35 points inside three minutes.

Bootsma and youngster Dylan Winton ramped up the defensive pressure with two smothers, but the Swans continued to press hard and impact the scoreboard.

Another goal from Wityk stretched the margin out to 56 points; before Jetta responded with one of his own to bring it back to 50 at the final change.

With the game beyond doubt in the final term, the Thunder was sparked by two pieces of magic from Jetta and Weller, which restored some respectability to the score line.

But the Swans’ dominance continued right until the final siren, with the sustained pressure on the ball carrier paying dividends for the home side.

In what was a tough day for the Thunder, Weller (21 disposals, one goal) and Sheridan (20 disposals) toiled manfully in the middle, while Griffin performed bravely in the ruck with 33 hitouts and two goals.

But the Thunder will have to regroup ahead of next weekend’s massive clash against reigning premiers Subiaco, which will no doubt test Peel’s finals credentials.

Reserves Report 

On Saturday we travelled up to Bassendean oval to take on Swan Districts. In the Reserves (Senior Development). As we were coming off a really good win from the week before confidence was around for another good showing. Whilst the Swans got off to a flyer with some really slick football the boys did a good job to start winning some contested ball and set about pegging the lead back. In a really good 2nd Term Peel cut back the deficit to 3 points by the main break.

The 3rd 1/4 was where the game was lost for peel with Swan Districts adding 6 goals to 1 with some clinical finishing. Whilst the effort and endeavour was there we just lacked a bit of finishing polish with some plays. Losing one of our main Mids in the 1st quarter didn't help our cause, neither did missing 3 easy attempts on goal, which you just can’t do at this level.

The last quarter was a bit of a stalemate and we were not able to reduce the margin eventually losing the game by 37 points. Whilst the result was disappointing we still managed to have quite a few good players on the day and of course it was another game under the belt for our very young list.

Colts Report 

In what has become a home away from home the Peel Thunder Colts ventured to Steel Blue oval for the third time in 2015 after a couple of earlier pre-season games at the home of Swan Districts. With number of changes to the team this week, mainly due to the state 18s program commencing, some great opportunities were presented to players to stand up.

The team were again focused on consistent effort, the ability to defend hard and move the ball with speed and freedom, playing an exciting brand of disciplined team football. After a loss to West Perth last week, Swan Districts came out of the blocks early with a 5 goal opening term. Their ability to hunt the ball and break the lines with explosive speed put the thunder boys on the back foot.

The second quarter was a great response, getting back to basics, and following the call to compete harder, control the ball and stick to the structures which have been practised over the last couple of months. To the players credit, they were able to execute well, kicking 6 unanswered goals in the term and going into the main break with a small lead.

The second half was tightly contested with both teams displaying some great skill in good conditions to move the ball. Unfortunately for the thunder it was again a case of being so close but yet so far. Up by 2 points with just minutes to go, Swans were able to intercept from a kick on the wing and propel forward kicking a goal with what was the last kick of the game to prevail by 4 points.

The boys continue to fight hard and show some outstanding signs without getting the points at the end of the game. They will rue the missed opportunities in the third term kicking 7 behinds and the slow start proved costly.