Photos by Shazza J Photography.
Camera IconPhotos by Shazza J Photography. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Peel Thunder finish season with a win

Calvin SimsMandurah Coastal Times

PEEL Thunder have capped their season with a win following a nail-biting three-point victory over Perth on Saturday.

After a disappointing ending a week earlier, Peel finished strongly against the Demons, kicking three goals to two in the final term to snare a 12.12 (84) to 12.9 (81) win.

With the Demons needing a win to make finals for the first time in 22 years, Peel battled hard all day and never gave up in a contest the visitors threatened to break open multiple times.

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Speaking after the game, Peel forward Michael Randall said he was impressed by his side’s persistence when the game hung in the balance.

“The resilience of the squad was amazing,” he said.

“We had Lachie Schultz go down, so we had to flip the board around and to fight it out was tremendous.”

Randall said coach Cam Shepherd had stressed the importance of finishing close games strongly.

“We have a strong emphasis on closing out the closer games and to get on top in the end was just a really good result,” Shepherd said.

At quarter time, Shepherd called on his team to keep the tackling pressure up, not giving Perth players any space to make decisions.

Thunder captain Ben Howlett answered the call, amassing a massive 20 tackles for the game and gathering 24 disposals.

Randall said playing alongside a leader like Howlett was always inspiring.

“He does it week in, week out and he’s just a machine that bloke… I don’t know how he does it,” Randall said.

“It’s just amazing to play alongside him and a few other blokes who just lead from the front and the rest follow… it’s really good.”

Benjamin Hancock was another stand out for the Thunder, kicking four goals and collecting 14 disposals.

Peel’s victory snapped a two-game losing streak and ensured they would finish the season on a positive note in front of home supporters.

Randall said the squad would look to take some momentum and belief from the game into next year as the team looks to improve over the summer.

“It’s going to be a massive pre-season and all of the boys are really keen to knuckle down and just go hard at it,” he said.