Disappointing Peel go down in the wet

PEEL’S finals hopes have been dented with a 55-point loss to reigning premiers Subiaco at Medibank Stadium on Saturday.

In wet and greasy conditions, the Thunder were well short of their best against a strong and classy Lions outfit, who triumphed 15.9 (99) to 6.8 (44).

It is the Thunder’s second heavy loss to the reigning premiers this season, and the pressure applied by the Lions was elite.

While the Thunder’s ruck duo of Jonathan Griffin and Jack Hannath combined for 54 hitouts, the Subiaco midfield were a class above, and the discrepancy in the tackle count (Subiaco 79 to Peel 60) told the tale of the Lions’ pressure.

Despite inside 50s remaining square at 45 apiece, the manner in which Peel moved forward was a stark contrast to the efficiency that was a trademark over the past month.

Griffin was Peel’s best with 32 hitouts and two goals, while Brady Grey put in another complete midfield performance with 23 disposals, eight tackles, seven inside 50s and a goal.

Ben Hancock provided plenty of run off halfback with 12 disposals in the first half and 19 for the game, while Josh Bootsma was rock-solid in defence, curtailing the dangerous Shane Yarran.

Jacob Ballard (26 disposals, seven tackles) and Hayden Crozier (24 touches) were also solid, however the Thunder lacked consistent contributors.

Peel coach Cam Shepherd said the performance was disappointing considering the benchmark set by the Lions this season.

“We really came here with high hopes, and we recognise Subiaco are the reigning premiers, but that performance was disappointing,” Shepherd said.

Peel’s intensity lifted in the second quarter, gaining an ascendancy in the contested ball and clearances, but it was not maintained for the rest of the contest.

“We fought really strongly in the second quarter to get back into the game, but let ourselves down after the main break,” Shepherd said.

While the statistics showed Peel were in the game with more kicks, handballs, hitouts and marks, skill errors were costly early in the third term.

“We made some turnovers in general play that gave Subiaco the opportunity to hit the scoreboard, and when a four-goal gap becomes a seven or eight goal gap, it makes it hard,” Shepherd said.

“We were not efficient with our inside 50s, we were disappointing in that area and sometimes stats don’t tell the full story.

“The stats would show that we had a fair bit of the ball, but they used it better than us and we conceded eight free kicks inside forward 50, which has a real impact as well.”

Earlier, Subiaco asserted its dominance in the first term before the Thunder fought its way back into the contest through sheer grit.

An early arm wrestle ensued after Chris Deluca and Sean Hurley traded goals, but from there the Lions piled on six unanswered goals to stroll out to a 37-point lead early in the second term.

The reigning premiers showed why they are heavily touted to contest for a second successive premiership with an intense, skillful brand of football that the Thunder struggled to contain.

Peel still clings to fourth spot on the ladder despite the loss, but there is heightened importance surrounding next weekend’s clash with eighth-placed East Fremantle at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

Reserves Report 

After last week’s good showing against Perth the Senior Development Coaching staff and Players were really relishing the chance to play the Top of the table Subiaco. The vibe before the game was good and that continued on into the first quarter. The first 5 mins were a bit shaky but then we settled down and played 20 mins of really good footy. Unfortunately we had a chance to put us ahead towards the end of the qtr which we didn’t take and Subiaco, as a good side does made the most of their opportunities to kick 3 quick goals and lead by that margin at the qtr time break.

In the 2nd qtr players were instructed and reminded to play within our game plan and keep persevering. Although the players were trying and there were some really good passages of play amongst it, we still came in at 1/2 time trailing by 36 points. The 2nd half however wasn’t our greatest effort for the year and from then on it was Subiaco who mainly controlled the game playing to their structures and tempo. Whilst we had 4 or 5 good players, Mulholland, May, Gomboc and Winton, the most disappointing and frustrating aspect of the game was the players inability to follow team protocol and structures. An issue that surely wont be lost at training this week.

The beautiful thing about Footy is you always have next week to regain lost pride and all concerned will be looking for a more disciplined effort on Saturday against East Freo.