Peel Thunder recorded an impressive 79-point win over West Coast in a WAFL derby fixture on Sunday at David Gray’s Arena.
11 Fremantle players lined up for Peel including midfielder Brett Bewley who had a solid outing in his football return after recovering from a groin injury.
Bewley said he was due to return the weekend prior but missed out on the opportunity after WAFL games were called off in the midst of a snap lockdown in the Perth and Peel regions.
“Last week was supposed to be my first game back (with Peel) so it was good to get back out there,” Bewley said.
“The boys were all itching to go, and everyone had a little bit of fire in their belly to come out today and give it a red-hot crack
“It was just really good to get out, have a kick around and have a good win.”
Fremantle’s Joel Western had arguably his best game for Peel with 26 disposals, ten marks and a goal, while Connor Blakely (24 disposals), Liam Henry (20 disposals and a goal) and Sam Sturt (14 disposals and three goals) all impressed.
Henry provided one of the highlights of the match with this incredible dribble goal from the boundary line in the final term.
A @kiaaustralia Move the Week party trick from Liam Henry ?? pic.twitter.com/y7t9w6HZEu
— WAFL (@WAFLOfficial) May 2, 2021
Lloyd Meek played well in a ruck battle against West Coast youngsters Bailey Williams and Callum Jamieson, finishing with 29 hit outs, 23 disposals and five marks.
Bewley said he had been impressed with Meek’s work ethic over the course of the year.
“Lloyd works his backside off…he’s one of the most professional players at the club and now it’s really starting to show with his footy,” Bewley said.
“When I first got to the club he was really raw and he probably didn’t have a lot of confidence.
“Now, he’s really grown into himself…he’s a big man and he’s starting to play like it.”
Stefan Giro also filled the stats sheet, finishing with 33 disposals, seven marks, four tackles and a goal.
“Stef is an elite runner, he’s probably the best runner at the club,” Bewley said.
“He’s really diligent to his role…playing on the wing sometimes you can get stuck out on the far side but he really uses his running to get back and help the defenders.
“He also late in the third quarter ran hard forward and got on the end of one, so his running really helps him.”
After some quiet weeks in the senior side following his AFL debut, Josh Treacy returned to Peel and starred with five goals, eighteen disposals, eight marks and five tackles.
“Josh had a couple of down weeks, but he’s come back and it’s a real good confidence booster for him,” Bewley said.
“It was good to see him clunking them again and putting them through.”
Meanwhile, Luke Valente (13 disposals, six marks) and Nathan O’Driscoll (10 disposals) also contributed, while Bailey Banfield’s day ended early with what an apparent ankle injury after starring in the first quarter with two goals.
Peel will look ahead to their round six clash this Saturday when they face Perth at Mineral Resources Park.
Stats
| # | PLAYER | K | H | D | M | T | HO | I50 | FF | FA | G | B |
| 46 | GIRO Stefan | 17 | 16 | 33 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | WESTERN Joel | 14 | 12 | 26 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | BLAKELY Connor | 13 | 11 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MEEK Lloyd | 8 | 15 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | BEWLEY Brett | 13 | 9 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | HENRY Liam | 13 | 7 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | TREACY Josh | 11 | 7 | 18 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 4 | STURT Sam | 9 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 38 | VALENTE Luke | 8 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | O'DRISCOLL Nathan | 7 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | BANFIELD Bailey | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
