Red-hot Royals too good for sloppy Peel

Red-hot Royals too good for sloppy Peel
Alex Paull

EAST Perth has leapfrogged Peel into third position on the WAFL ladder, with a convincing 32-point win at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Sunday.

The Thunder ‘s ball-handling and foot skills were below par for most of the day, and only a last-term fight-back restored respectability to the 13.16 (94) to 8.14 (62) scoreline.

Both sides peppered the goals early in the match, but while the Royals managed to create a buffer through Tom Lamb’s two first quarter goals, the Thunder could only manage four behinds in a lacklustre opening.

The Royals looked to utilise the strong wind advantage in the opening term, but only managed three goals from nine scoring shots.

Peel’s first goal came in the opening minutes of the second term through Jacob Ballard, but the quick response through Royals captain Craig Wulff typified what was to come throughout the day.

The Thunder managed to stay in touch through East Perth’s inaccuracy in front of goal, but failed to take their own opportunities, booting a wayward 2.9 for the opening half.

Peel struggled to rebound from defensive 50, and a number of disposal errors resulted in goals, in a reflection of both Peel’s disappointing skills and the Royals’ strong pressure.

The visitors put the game beyond doubt with six goals in the third term, before the Thunder finished with four goals to two to finish strongly.

Clancee Pearce picked up 38 touches, however he made some costly errors by foot, along with many of his teammates.

Brady Grey provided his typical grunt in the midfield, and his 29 disposals and 10 tackles were important for the home side, as was Jacob Ballard with 30 touches and a goal.

But overall, it was the Thunder’s skills that let them down, and Peel coach Cam Shepherd said it would be a focus ahead of next week’s clash with Perth.

“I think the skill errors were driven out of the fact that our effort wasn’t right, and the opposition were far harder and stronger for longer,” Shepherd said.

Despite turnovers from defence proving costly on the scoreboard, Shepherd said he still wanted the players to take the game on.

“We still want the players to go for them if they are there, it’s just about improving skill execution and decision-making,” he said.

“We’ve won six of our last seven games, and while it was disappointing today we are still well-placed and we are looking forward to the next couple of games.”

While the Royals’ win sees them jump into third, they have a bye next week, while Peel travel to Lathlain Park to face bottom side Perth.