Sharks fall to Thunder

East Fremantle have fallen outside the top five for the first time this season, following a 43-pont loss to Peel Thunder on Saturday at ATOM Stadium.

The Sharks battled in the wild conditions, but were unable to get the score on the board finishing 3.8 (26) to Peel’s 10.9 (69). While the Club celebrated District Day and welcomed junior and senior East Fremantle District footy participants to the WAFL, the League side just couldn't hold off a Peel side that adapted better to the conditions. 

It was an important match for both teams, who sat on equal points alongside East Perth, with the Sharks just out in front with a higher percentage.

The loss means Peel and East Perth now sit a game clear of the Sharks while Perth trails closely 1 win behind, with only 5 games left this season.

Peel won what turned out to be a crucial coin toss and kicked with the strong breeze in the first quarter.  The effort and endeavour of the Sharks boys was very good and despite a late goal to Peel we were still in a reasonable position at quarter time, trailing by 3 goals, with Jesse Adamini kicking an important goal in to the breeze.

East Fremantle was denied advantage of the breeze in the second term due to the huge deluge of rain that left the ground covered with puddles of water and plenty of mud. The Sharks did kick the first two goals of the quarter through Jamie McNamara and Jacob Green, but Peel were able to answer through Gerald Ugle and Brett Milward and held a 22 point lead at half time.

The Thunder then dominated the second half against the Sharks with the visitors kicking the only three goals of third term courtesy of Shane Yarran, Josh Deluca and Milward.  East Fremantle did themselves no favours with costly early turnovers in the back half and with Peel also leading the contested ball count, critical in such conditions, it was always going to be tough for the Sharks to come back from that kind of deficit.  Unfortunately for the Sharks all their goals were scored by the seven minute mark of the second term as they could not score a major in that second half. 

McNamara worked hard all day for 23 possessions and seven inside-50 entries while Jayden Schofield continued his good form off half-back with another 24 disposals and seven marks.  Jesse Crichton was tough inside all day, collecting 22 possessions and 17 tackles and George Hampson picked up 22 touches and looked like he handled the conditions better than most.  Ryan Lester-Smith used the ball well off half back  and James Bristow was gallant in the ruck, competing well against two AFL listed ruck in Clarke and Hannath to record 15 disposals and 39 hit outs.

The Sharks will need to work hard to keep their finals hopes alive, as they take on Swan Districts this Saturday at Steel Blue Oval. 

East Fremantle 3.8.26

Peel 10.9.69

GOALS: J Adamini, J McNamara, J Green

BEST: J.Crichton, J.Schofield, J.Bristow, R.Lester-smith, G.Hampson

In earlier grades both the Colts and the Development League sides recorded back to back wins.  The Colts started their game in fantastic fashion kicking the first four goals inside the first 8 minutes of the game.  The Sharks looked on with excellent stoppage work, led by Zurhaar who started inside, and slick ball movement, long and direct inside the forward 50, where the likes of Nevill and Strnadica looked extremely dangerous.  To Peel’s credit they steadied at the mid-way point of the quarter and kicked two late goals to remain in touch.

The middle two quarters were very much a hard slog, with winds starting to build but the Sharks were able to control much of the general play, increasing their lead at every change, heading in to the final break with a commanding 32 point lead.  However with the breeze really stiffening Peel came hard the final quarter and scored 3.4, whilst keeping the Sharks scoreless, with the game a close 10 point win for the Sharks.

Major ball winners for East Fremantle were Corey Holmes (23), Leon Pearton (20)  and debutant Kyle D’Antoine with 18. Up forward Nevill and Strnadica kicked three majors each, both taking some strong marks and kicking well in tough conditions.  Jack McGrath battled manfully in the ruck, collecting 16 possessions, working well with Zurhaar and Quill in particular to win the stoppages.  Down back Kennedy Sorrell did a very good job on a dangerous Peel forward, whilst Lachlan Kleppe took 9  marks and had 16 possessions from centre half back.

East Fremantle 10.3 (63)

Peel  7.11 (53)

The Development League started their game the same way as the Colts boys, hitting the scoreboard early and had it not been for some missed opportunities in front of goal the score could have looked even better than the 7.6 to 0.0 in the Sharks favour.  However both players and coaches alike would have been happy with that start.  East Fremantle controlled the game early in the second, despite kicking in to the breeze and had it not for kicking 1.6 for the quarter the margin would have been far more than the 38 points it was at the major break.

The second half was a real grind for both teams, with the wind and slippery turf making it a tough day at the office and both sides kicked 7 goals in the second half.  At the end of the day the Sharks walked away with an important 36 point win, one that sees them a game clear in the five, sitting in 4^th position, but with  a huge game against Swans next week.

Tom Hooker would have put his hand up for a return to the League side with a strong 29 disposal game, as will have Jake Schleicher with 27, 7 tackles and a number of strong clearances, whilst other ball winners included  Conor Regan (24) and Andrew Stephen (21 before going off with an ankle injury).  Carl Green, playing up forward kicked a career high 4 goals, while Jeff Carter played his best game for the Sharks kicking 2.3.  Andrew Stokes also returned to some form with 16 possessions, 20 hitouts and 2.2. 

East Fremantle 15.17 (107) 

Peel 11.5 (71)