PEEL Thunder coach Cam Shepherd said his side must produce a strong performance for all four quarters against East Perth this Saturday if they are to play finals football.
The Thunder led at every change against Claremont and held a 23-point lead at half time, but ultimately went down by eight points.
Shepherd said while his side played superb football in the first half, their second half effort let them down and dealt a blow to their finals chances.
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READ NOW“We had a very good first half and a particularly good second quarter which put us in good position,” he said.
“But their elite runners in midfield got hold of us, they won the contested possessions and won more football, I think they won the inside 50s 36-16 in the second half and our forwards had limited supply.”
The winner of this week’s clash with East Perth is likely to seal a finals spot, with both sides on 28 points, although East Perth have a large percentage advantage.
Shepherd said it was imperative his side played out the entire game with gusto and their win over the Royals two weeks ago counted for nothing.
“The previous result is irrelevant, we’re regrouping as East Perth no doubt will, we’ve got to give ourselves every opportunity to win and hope Subiaco beat Perth,” he said.
“We’ve got to play the full four quarters, two isn’t enough, we have to play a strong brand of footy for four quarters as East Perth will be in the same boat as us.”
Danyle Pearce was once again among Peel’s best with 29 disposals and four inside 50s, while Ben Howlett continued his strong season with 21 disposals, nine tackles, four inside 50s and a goal.
Hugh Dixon (18) starred up forward with three goals, while Luke Strnadica and Brayden Lawler both added two apiece.