Peel Thunder has consolidated its place in the top five with a convincing 27-point win over Claremont in front of a crowd of 1652 at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Sunday.
The 16.11 (107) to 11.15 (81) win also signaled the first time a Peel side has won four games in succession, which was a testament to the Thunder’s improvement in the early stages of the season.
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In a fast but scrappy game, neither side could establish a dominance in the first quarter, with Claremont bursting out of the blocks with three quick goals before the Thunder responded with three of its own to go into the quarter time four points ahead.
The classy finishing of Gerald Ugle was proving to be the difference in the first half, as the silky forward delved into his bag of tricks to produce some outstanding goals, including one out of midair.
Another to showcase his skills was Max Duffy, who racked up 25 disposals and booted three goals, with his checkside effort from the boundary in the second term a highlight.
Jacob Ballard was the lynchpin of the Thunder midfield, dominating the clearances with 18 touches in the first half, on the way to 29 for the game, while Brendon Jones (28 possessions) and Hayden Crozier (27 touches and seven inside 50s) were solid contributors.
With a 20-point lead at half time, the Thunder managed to extend the lead inside three minutes through Ballard, and when Craig Moller combined with Josh Deluca to kick the side’s 12th, Peel were 35 points ahead and running away with the game.
But as Claremont began to crawl its way back into the contest, its accuracy deserted them in the third quarter, booting a wasteful nine behinds to forfeit any chance of a comeback.
A stoic Thunder defence still managed to thwart many forward thrusts from the Tigers, as the likes of Brady Grey (20 disposals) and Josh Mathers (16 touches) pounced on loose forward 50 entries.
A scrappy affair ensued in the final term, as goals to Leroy Jetta, Ed Langdon and Duffy saw the Thunder assume a 43-point lead, before three late goals from Claremont restored some respectability.
The win was made more meritorious by the fact that defender Alex Silvagni went down with a hamstring injury in the first quarter.
Peel coach Cam Shepherd said the record-breaking winning streak was a product of hard work and a playing group continuing to gel.
“One of the hardest things is to be consistent, and we want to be resilient and a club that’s making inroads, and today under a bit of pressure against a proud club we were able to maintain that consistency,” Shepherd said.
“We were disappointed in our third quarter as they wrest back control of the clearances, but booting nine points meant that we probably dodged a bullet, but we thought if we maintained our pressure on them and kept using the ball well, we’d be relatively strong.”
The Thunder win was highlighted by an even workload through the midfield, which Shepherd said was crucial to providing consistent forward thrusts.
“We moved the ball nicely off half back and through the middle, which gave us great opportunities to score and we capitalised,” Shepherd said.
The Thunder now eye off a crucial encounter with Swan Districts at Bassendean next week, in which both clubs will pay tribute to the late Steve Bazzo.
