Image
Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Peel Thunder coach proud of his team for clinical win

Ben SmithMandurah Coastal Times

PEEL Thunder coach Cam Shepherd has praised the clinical nature of his side in their do-or-die clash with East Perth at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

A seven-goal, breeze-assisted second quarter set Peel on their way to a 25-point win which allowed them to jump back into a finals spot with two games to play.

Image
Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Supplied
PerthNow Digital Edition.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Shepherd said he was proud of his players for overcoming the 15-point deficit at quarter-time and taking advantage of the favourable conditions in the second quarter.

“I’m really proud of the players, it was a tough day for both sides, the wind blew really strong all day,” he said.

“We were tough, our first quarter was good and we managed to stay in game, which was important.”

Shepherd said they did not make any major tweaks after the first quarter and his faith in his players paid off.

Image
Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Supplied

“We just knew we had to win enough of contested ball and get it into our forwards,” he said.

Tom Sheridan starred in a best-on-ground performance (39 disposals, 10 tackles and two goals), while Danyle Pearce (31 disposals and six inside 50s) and Stefan Giro (27 disposals, five inside 50s and two goals) continued their good seasons.

In just his third league game of the season, 21-year-old Haydn Matthews also stood out with 23 touches and 10 tackles.

The Thunder have a bye next week, but Shepherd said he was already fully focused on their remaining two games.

“We have to win to get in the finals. We’ll take a bit of a breather and rally for the next game against Claremont,” he said.