East Fremantle no match for strong Peel line-up

After a promising start to the season, East Fremantle were convincingly beaten by Peel Thunder at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Easter Saturday.

Despite kicking the first three goals of game, the Sharks would have to wait until the fourth quarter before finally kicking their fourth major.

Peel boasted a very strong side with 16 registered Fremantle Dockers players running out for the Thunder.

After an even contest in the first quarter, Peel were far too good for the Sharks and went on to win the match 15.14 (104) to 6.13. (49).

The Sharks got the game underway through slick ball movement from Sean Henson. Henson was able weave his way through traffic and set up Ryan Lester-Smith who snapped the first goal of the match. East Fremantle were applying strong pressure early and were able to capitalise with Jake Schleicher intercepting a pass and going back to slot a goal from outside 50. Unfortunately, this momentum was short lived as the Sharks lost control of the match midway through the first quarter and struggled to get it back for the remainder of the game.

The second and third quarter was very much one way traffic. East Fremantle lost their pressure and Peel were moving the ball forward with ease. When the Sharks did have the ball, they were unable to move it on quickly and would often turn it over through sloppy disposal. Peel were spreading far too easily and were catching the Sharks defenders out in vulnerable positions. Despite the barrage of entries, Matthew Jupp and Danny Charters fought on manfully down back. At three quarter time, Peel were leading East Fremantle 12.9 (81) to 3.11 (29).

After numerous missed chances in the first three quarters, Rob Young was able to finally kick truly for the Sharks early in the fourth term. East Fremantle stemmed the bleeding late but unfortunately the damage had already been done. Jamie McNamara was solid for the Sharks and finished the game with 30 hard earned possessions.

East Fremantle will be looking to bounce back this Saturday as they take on Claremont in a must win game for both sides. Claremont are yet to win a game this season and the Sharks will be desperate to get their season back on track. The game takes place at 2:15pm at East Fremantle oval.

GOALS: 1 S.Henson, M.Jupp, R.Young, J.Schleicher, B.Ellis, R.Lester-smith

BEST: J.McNamara, M.Jupp, S.Henson, D.Chartres

Colts

The day started well for the Sharks with the Colts recording their third consecutive win of the season against a spirited Peel Colts Team.  Whilst the score didn't really reflect what was a quality game of football, the boys won by a comfortable 42 points.

In a good sign with regular players Snadden, Strnadica, Parish and Perry missing the depth of the Colts' squad put in a solid four quarter effort, breaking the game open in the middle two quarters where they kicked 10.3 to Peel 2.3

The midfield, led by ruck-man Michael Cronan and onballers Delaney, Marshall, Adamini (in his debut) and Baskerville provided plenty of opportunity to the forward line, where it was Cameron Zurhaar and Sam Lewis who cashed in, kicking 4 goals apiece.

The defence was again at its miserly best restricting the Peel scoring to just 43 points from 42 inside 50's.  

A highlight of the game was a superb mark taken by James Harrold during the second quarter.

The Colts boys will face 2014 grand finalists Claremont this weekend at ATOM Stadium in what will be their biggest test of the season so far.

East Fremantle          13.7 = 85     def     Peel          6.7 = 43

Development League

The Development League boys took to Bendigo Bank Stadium hoping to chalk up their first win of the season.  Buoyed by the inclusion of some injured players, including recruit Julian Locantro, 2014 State 18's player Jack Cripps and regular players Adrian Ricciardello and Jacob Green, the boys were hoping to put a tough two weeks behind them with a stronger showing against a Peel side that included a couple of younger Dockers players.

After a shaky opening stanza, where our boys were outscored 3 goals to 1, the Sharks gradually took ascendancy of the game, kicking  4 goals in each of the next two quarters to head in to the final change 14 points in front.

The final quarter was all East Fremantle, ramming home 6 goals to 1 to record their first win of the season, a commanding 41 point victory.

East Fremantle          1511 = 101     def     Peel          8.12 = 60

16s Development

The weekend rounded out on Tuesday morning with the undefeated East Fremantle 16's taking on a very strong Peel 16's in wet, windy and slippery conditions.

The game was a real tight, tough contest from the outset, but our boys weren't able to make the most of their opportunities, whereas the Peel boys, who had been cleaner and more efficient, were able to take the most of theirs, at one stage kicking 6 goals straight from their first seven inside 50's.

As the game headed in to the last quarter there was only a few points separating the two sides.  Unfortunately missed opportunities cost the Sharks, kicking 4 consecutive points to take the lead for the first time, but Peel were able to steady and again kicked two unanswered goals against the run of play to hand our boys their first defeat by 7 points.

The game was a good lesson for the young Sharks, having dominated general play with 35 inside 50's to Peel's 18 and having 20 scoring shots to Peel's 11, in terms of making the most of those opportunities when they present themselves.  But to the credit of the squad they never stopped working hard.

East Fremantle          6.13 = 49     def by     Peel          9.2 = 56

GOALS: 2 Blurton, Jones and Geaney

BEST: Patat, Pollock, Peake, Eardley, Jones