Jetta’s seven steers Peel to historic finals berth

Jetta’s seven steers Peel to historic finals berth
Alex Paull

A SEVEN-goal haul from forward Leroy Jetta has helped Peel Thunder secure a prized finals double chance, following a comfortable 39-point win over South Fremantle at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Saturday.
 

It was a scrappy affair early, but Peel simply had too much class for the Bulldogs, who bid farewell to retiring stalwart Craig White after 192 games.

The game loomed as a free-scoring affair when Peel hit the scoreboard through Max Duffy after 20 seconds, however missed opportunities from both sides marred the opening term.

The Bulldogs regrouped from the slow start to gain the ascendancy in the middle, but peppered the goals, with Cory Dell’Olio missing an easy goal from the top of the square.

The home side took a two-point lead into quarter time, but directions from coach Cam Shepherd to win the contested ball were met with a quick response from the Thunder.

Three goals in the first 10 minutes saw the lead stretch out to 17, before the Bulldogs hit back through Josh Pullman and Callum Ah Chee.

Peel’s third quarters have been strong this year and this was no exception, as a five-goal third term set up the comfortable victory.

But the final quarter belonged to Jetta, who found plenty of space roaming the half forward line, and the enigmatic forward booted four goals in the final term in a nice tune-up ahead of September.

Peel coach Cam Shepherd praised the efforts of his players, and said securing the maiden finals berth was a huge moment for the club.

“I’m really proud of the boys’ performance today, we showed plenty of resilience, and after being in third position after the home and away season is just reward for the effort that we’ve put in through the year,” Shepherd said.

“We’re comfortable with what we’ve done, but now we put a line in the sand and look towards next week.”

Despite coming off four wins last year, Shepherd said there were strong signs of improvement, which has flourished this year.

“I think we made some inroads last year without getting the wins that we’d like, but we knew we had a young group and the bond between the players was growing. And that bond has strengthened this year, and these guys have come together,” he said.

Statistically, the Bulldogs had 52 more disposals, 36 more marks, and led forward 50 entries 47-46, yet lost by 39 points, which Shepherd attributed to the pressure applied upfield.

“Our pressure was sufficient for most of the game, and we eventually caused turnovers, and upon turnover we could move quick and give our forwards best opportunity.”

Gerald Ugle, who chimed in with three goals, supported Jetta’s career-best effort, as did Tom Vandeleur whose versatility will be useful in finals as illustrated by his two goals after last week playing in defence.

Brendon Jones’ purple patch of form continued, with the wily veteran notching up 35 disposals, including 22 in the first half.

Jacob Ballard and Brady Grey were again typically prolific with 29 and 24 touches respectively, while Ethan Hughes showed continued development with 21 disposals off half back.

For Peel, a date with West Perth at HBF Arena awaits, as the Thunder prepare to ply their trade in September for the first time in the club’s history.