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West Perth Thunder-struck after bright start

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 - 7:39 AM
West Perth Thunder-struck after bright start
John Townsend
 
 
West Perth were up by 39 points midway through the second quarter on Saturday and seemingly set for the comprehensive win over Peel that would steer them back to top spot on the league ladder.
Shane Nelson and Nathan Murray controlled the midfield, Tyler Keitel appeared on track for a bag of goals to celebrate his 150th appearance and life membership, and Zac Guadagnin and Noah Pegoraro were powerful pillars in the impervious backline.
The impressive 45-minute start at Pentanet Stadium was exactly what coach Darren Harris wanted as part of his team’s premiership defence.
“Our pressure early was outstanding, we really hunted well, got a lot of clearances and we dominated most aspects of the game,” he said.
 
But the bright start was to prove unsustainable as inaccuracy in front of goals and lost opportunities saw the Falcons falter and eventually be over-run by a Thunder team that would go on to produce just its fifth win in 29 visits to Joondalup over 27 years.
“It turned 10 minutes into the second quarter,” Harris reflected after the nine-point loss.
“We kicked 1.8 in the second half and it’s pretty hard to win games of footy when you do that.”
The final score of 9.14 (68) to Peel’s 11.11 (77) was based on the Thunder kicking eight goals to one after that highwater mark in the second quarter.
Harris confirmed there would be a focus on finishing and execution as West Perth prepare for the WA Day derby against East Perth but the reality is that much is still going well even with the costly hour against Peel.
Nelson is in rare form in the 12th season of one of the club’s great careers.
He is kicking the ball more this year – his 27 kicks against Peel has been surpassed only five times in his 215 matches including the round two clash with West Coast – which allowed him to produce a career-high 11 inside 50 entries on Saturday and kick two goals for just the eighth time.
Nelson and Keitel were on the board early as West Perth kicked the first four goals of the game to build a 25-point while the midfielder’s 55m bomb at the start of the second term belied his reputation as a player without great kicking depth.
There has never been any question over Ben Johnson’s ability to cover distance and he proved it after receiving a crafty handball from Keegan Knott.
Keitel converted two strong marks in the second term – with the first taken right on the line as captain Aaron Black fired from long range – to move alongside great club figures Frank Hopkins and Trevor Schofield with 285 majors. Phil Smith (291) and Andrew Strijk (294) are his next targets.
But the game shifted from that point as Peel’s 13 Dockers started to impose themselves on the contest and Thunder captain Ben Hancock, who returned from his WA debut to set a club record in his 140th game, worked into the contest.
 
Peel kicked the last four goals of the first half to slice the lead to 21 points then, based on having the ball 53 more times than the home team, landed the only three in the third term to take their first lead of the game into the last break.
West Perth regained the lead when Knott received a relay free in the goal-square from the first passage of play of the last term but four more clear opportunities were missed during the rest of the gruelling quarter as Peel’s poise under pressure proved the difference between the teams.
East Perth now await as West Perth return to Leederville Oval for the first time since they won the 2022 grand final at their old home ground.
 
WEST PERTH 5.1 8.6 8.9 9.14 68
PEEL 2.1 5.3 9.8 11.11 77
GOALS – WEST PERTH: Keitel 3; Nelson 2; Johnson, Knott, C Lynch, Rundle.
PEEL: Kuek 3; Corbett 2; Emmett, Ietto, Middleton, Sears.
BEST – WEST PERTH: Nelson, Guadagnin, Pegoraro, Meadows, Murray, Keitel.
PEEL: Hancock, Wagner, Henry, Erasmus, Kuek, Hamling.

 

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