Peel suffered its first loss of the season against South Fremantle to relinquish top spot on the WAFL ladder on Saturday.

After scoring convincing victories over East Perth and East Fremantle in the opening rounds, the Thunder were well beaten by the Bulldogs, who pulled away in the last quarter to win by 43 points.

Fremantle youngster Griffin Logue said it was a disappointing performance.

“Our tackle count was down from what it normally is (and) ball movement can be improved,” he said.

One of the bright spots for Peel was the performance of Harley Balic, whose 2016 season was hampered by injury.

Balic collected 31 possessions against the Royals and 35 against the Sharks and was again prominent against the Bulldogs, gathering 29 possessions to go with his 11 marks and four tackles.

It was a performance that prompted Fremantle coach Ross Lyon to identify Balic as a possible inclusion to the Fremantle side that will take on the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.

Key defender Sam Collins was another who could hold his head high after the loss to South Fremantle.

“Sam Collins is a stand-out,” Logue said.

“He's definitely a big rock for us, he’s real solid.”

The match started well for Peel, which had the first three scoring shots. But the home side’s inaccuracy would prove costly as they managed just two goals from their first nine shots at goal.

The Bulldogs dominated the second term and held an 11-point lead at the main change before establishing a match-winning lead with four goals in the third term.

The Thunder will get the chance to atone when they take on Subiaco at Leederville Oval on Saturday in a rematch of last season’s WAFL grand final.