Peake finds the passion

All Brett Peake wanted to do was another pre-season.

After the heart-breaking preliminary-final loss of 2014, Peake hung up the boots and spent 2015 in amateur football with the North Fremantle Magpies.

But during that year on the other side of the Freo traffic bridge, a spark was lit that eventually resulted in Peake taking his WAFL career beyond 100 games. In Round 1, Peake featured heavily in the Sharks’ 49 point victory over Swan Districts.

“Brett rang up to ask about taking part in pre-season and I said most-definitely,” Rob Wiley said about Peake’s return to the club.

“He’s great to have around as we had a pretty young side. As the pre-season unfolded he was up and about, starring on the track and I’m glad we finally convinced him to play – and I thought he was very, very good against Swans.”

It was the Peake of old as he kicked two goals with 19 disposals, but his role at the club is extending beyond his on-field contribution.

Peake kicked 43 goals in his 2014 season, and in 2016 he has taken on a dual role working alongside Phil Materia as a forward-line coach. This chance to give back played a major part in restoring Peake’s motivation to again pull on the number 7 jersey that was also worn by his father Brian.

“I suppose we were so close in 2014 to making the grand final and I sort of lost the passion,” said Peake.

“I probably haven’t had the passion like this for probably six years, so I thought I’d give it one last crack and give everything I’ve got to the game that’s given me so much – you never know with a young squad anything can happen.”

With 118 AFL games under his belt, Peake was under no illusions about what this return would require, but this knowledge didn’t make it any easier.

“I’ve had to work really hard – going from once or twice a week training to three or four nights,” said Peake.

“Obviously the intensity is virtually doubled and I came in a little bit heavy as well so I had to work my backside off, but I feel like I’ve put in the hard yards and it’s going to hold me in good stead going forward this year.”

Peake also knows what to expect this week when the club heads to Mandurah for Round 2, with the former Docker wary of a side teeming with up-and-coming talent.

“It’s going to be a tough trip down to Peel – they’re filled with Dockers and they’ve got a lot of good young players that are knocking on the door for AFL selection,” said Peake.

“For us to take that next step we’ve got to go down to Bendigo Bank Stadium and we’ve got to win those games. We’re focusing on good recovery and good training sessions and look forward to driving down south and taking them on.”

It’s no surprise that Rob Wiley agrees with his senior player, highlighting the importance of recovery so early in the season.

“There’s always a lot of sore boys after the first game as everything always goes up a notch or two in intensity,” said Wiley.

“We’ve got to make sure we recover right, we’re looking at the vision and will see where we can get better and then plan our attack. I’m sure it’s always a hard task to go down to Mandurah against an obviously good side.”