Traye Bennell evades a tackle.
Camera IconTraye Bennell evades a tackle. Credit: Supplied/Phil Elliott, Pixell Photography

WAFL: Peel Thunder two from two after smashing East Freo

Tim SlaterMandurah Coastal Times

The Thunder held a convincing lead at every break, ending the gamewith an 86-point victory.

Fremantle recruit Harley Balic was a standout for the side with 33 possessions, while Matt Taberner proved vital, kicking five goals.

Leroy Jetta matched Taberner’s efforts with another five for the Thunder, the final score 19.12 (126) to 5.10 (40).

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Fremantle Dockers defender Sam Collins highlighted Taberner’s dominance in the game.

“Obviously he’s pretty disappointed to not be playing round one tomorrow (for the Dockers) but he came in with a really great attitude and was a really big target for us,” he said.

Peel was dominant in the first quarter, with most of the time spent in their half.

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Josh Mathers, who celebrated his 50th game this week, commended his team’s defensive efforts.

“We just focused on trying to win every quarter and not letting them back into the game,” he said.

Brady Grey kicked off the game with a goal for Peel and some quick footwork from Rory O’Brien saw the Thunder dominate the start.

Tensions rose towards the end of the first quarter, with the game becoming physical as East Fremantle kicked goals from Brett Peake and Matthew Watson.

The pace dropped off slightly in the second quarter, with only two goals to the Thunder.

Jetta stepped up in the third quarter, kicking three for Peel.

Coach Cam Shepherd warned his players of being over-confident at the three-quarter-time break, telling the Thunder to “step it up” and “don’t slack off”.

Peel started off the final term with three goals: one to Harley Balic and two for Matt Taberner.

The Sharks finally made the most of scoring opportunities with a late goal from Cameron Symonds in the last five minutes.

The win sees Peel going into round three undefeated but Mathers said this did not guarantee success moving forward.

“We feel pretty good but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. It’s only early in the season and we have a lot of rounds to go,” he said.

In the colts, Peel defeated East Fremantle, 8.8 (56) to 6.8 (44).

In the reserves, Thunder defeated East Fremantle in a two-point thriller, 14.6 (90) to 14.1 (88).