WAFL 2024: Undermanned Peel outclassed by East Fremantle as Sharks keep in touch with finals

The reigning premiers are not dead yet as East Fremantle took a crucial victory over an undermanned Peel to move back into finals contention at Lane Group Stadium. Despite moving their home game to Peel’s heartland following more turf delays at Shark Park, East Fremantle scrapped their way to a 13.9 (87) to 10.6 (66) win to move back into the top five. Another inspiring performance up forward from Jono Marsh (four goals) and the midfield class of Milan Murdock (29 disposals, 13 clearances, seven tackles) proved to be the difference despite a fast finish from Peel which saw them kick five of the last seven goals. East Fremantle’s win may have come at a cost however, as Cameron Eardley faces a nervous wait after wiping out draft hopeful Bo Allan with a cynical bump in the final quarter which saw him blue-carded. Odin Jones had got Peel off to a perfect start in his league debut in the absence of several Thunder stars with Patrick Voss, Liam Reidy and Will Brodie all travelling with Fremantle while Blair Bell was missing through a hamstring strain. They were dealt a further blow with Neil Erasmus going down in the first contest to leave the Peel thin in the midfield. Max Knobel (50 hit-outs, five clearances) did all he could, in just his fourth league outing, but his ruck dominance failed to translate into scores. It allowed East Fremantle to pour on the pressure after the tight opening as they started to dominate clearances, with Jack Cleaver having four within the first quarter. The Thunder defence was under pressure but limited the damage to two goals, thanks to the efforts of Karl Worner and Michael Sellwood, as Jono Marsh and Cody Leggett moved the Sharks in front at quarter-time. Peel once again had the better of the Sharks to open the second quarter but this time they could not impact the scoreboard allowing Dillon O’Reilly and Marsh to break the game open with Marsh nailing a terrific shot 40m out on the boundary. However, the Thunder defence was largely holding and Karl Worner was looking a class above in his ability to rebound out of defence. The tide slowly turned and Nathan Wilson proved a circuit breaker for Peel after converting from a tight angle after winning a free-kick for a trip to keep them in touch at half-time. With the game low on class, Murdock was carving up as he found Leggett who took a strong mark to kick his second as Peel struggled to get their hands on the footy. Off the back of four goals against West Coast, Matt Taberner had just two disposals in the first half but exploded early in the third to kick his first and set up Corey Tregenza shortly afterwards to make it a one-goal game. But it was Marsh who once again inspired the Sharks to spin out of trouble and put one on the left to find his third goal. Peel then gave away a costly 50m penalty for playing on after Bo Allen gave away a free for a high fend-off allowing Thomas Bennett to undo all their hard work earlier in the quarter. Harry Marsh then provided the highlight of the day, outdoing his brother, by launching a massive bomb from 55m as Peel fell apart in the space of 10 minutes to leave them with a mountain to climb in the final term. Two goals within the first three minutes for the Sharks ensured there would be no late heroics, despite a strong finish for Peel, as the Sharks moved into the top five at the expense of Claremont following their seven-point loss to Swan Districts. SCOREBOARD EAST FREMANTLE 2.4, 4.5, 8.9, 13.11 (89) PEEL THUNDER 1.2, 2.5, 4.5, 10.6 (66) Goals – EAST FREMANTLE: J Marsh 4 C Leggett 2 T Bennett 2 D O’Reilly H Marsh J Hagan B McGuire A Montauban PEEL THUNDER: M Taberner 3 C Tregenza 2 O Jones 2 N Wilson S Tuia M Knobel Best – EAST FREMANTLE: M Murdock H Marsh K Baskerville J Marsh J Cleaver PEEL THUNDER: M Knobel K Worner M Sellwood A Hare B Walker Injuries - PEEL THUNDER: N Erasmus (concussion) B Allan (concussion) Reports: C Eardley (EF) for a high bump on B Allan (P) in the fourth quarter. Umpires: TBA Crowd: TBA at Lane Group Stadium