“We went really well in the first half and our pressure was really strong,” he said.
“We managed to hold them off pretty well in the third quarter and for a period of time in the last quarter.
“But they had a six-minute blast towards the back end of the game, so South Fremantle were pretty good in the second half.”
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READ NOWBrayden Lawler, Ben Hancock, Matt Taberner and Josh Deluca all kicked two goals apiece for Peel, with Deluca particularly strong all afternoon, finishing with 22 possessions and nine tackles.
Peel’s back-line stood tall despite having lost Sam Collins, Brennan Cox and Ryan Nyhuis from the previous week.
Taylin Duman was especially impressive, holding Blaine Johnson to the one goal and having 17 possessions and six marks himself.
Rory O’Brien racked up another 23 possessions and laid six tackles for the Thunder, with former Bulldog Traye Bennell delivering 19 disposals and 11 marks on the wing.
Nick Suban had a good impact with 15 disposals, six marks, five tackles and a goal, while Sean Darcy had another 42 hit outs in the ruck.
Shepherd was impressed with his team’s efforts to resist South’s momentum and kick the winning goal.
“It was a real credit to the boys for digging in and kicking that last goal,” he said.
Shepherd said it would have been pretty hard on the side if it had lost after what happened the weekend before.
“The footy gods smiled and we got the win which puts us in good shape at 6-5 and fourth spot on the ladder,” he said.
Shepherd said he was pleased with the players’ all-round performance.
“Hancock and Lawler were good from a local point of view,” he said.
Dockers players Griffin Logue, Ethan Hughes, Darcy and Deluca also stood out.
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