\n Peel Thunder prove too strong in final pre-season hit out at Mineral Resources Park\n <\/p>\n
\n By westcoasteagles.com.au\n <\/p>\n
West Coast wrapped up their WAFL pre\u2011season on Saturday afternoon, falling to a powerful Peel Thunder outfit by 93-points in slippery conditions at Mineral Resources Park.<\/p>\n
Under overcast skies and light drizzle early, the Eagles fielded a youthful side for their final tune\u2011up before next week\u2019s season opener. With 25\u2011minute quarters in place, the home side showed patches of promise but were ultimately outplayed by a cleaner and more experienced Peel unit.<\/p>\n
Peel made a fast start, converting twice in the opening minutes before Sascha Kernutt broke through for West Coast with a well\u2011constructed passage through the corridor, trimming the margin back to seven points.<\/p>\n
Charlie Nicholls proved a handful, kicking multiple first\u2011term goals including a late set shot that sent Peel into quarter time with a 35\u2011point advantage. West Coast\u2019s defensive group, led by Rhett Bazzo and Caleb Datson, battled hard under consistent heat, but Peel\u2019s ball movement made scoring opportunities difficult to contain.<\/p>\n
Kernutt again opened the scoring in the second quarter, narrowing the margin to 30-points, while Bailey Williams imposed himself in the ruck with several strong hit outs and follow\u2011up efforts.<\/p>\n
Peel quickly regained control, with Corey Tregenza sparking a run of goals that pushed the margin beyond 10 majors. Their ability to move the ball cleanly in slippery conditions proved a key difference, as West Coast were repeatedly outnumbered at the contest. By half time, Peel had stretched the lead to 68 points.<\/p>\n
The second half followed a similar pattern, with the Thunder maintaining control of the contest. Elijah Hewett worked hard through the midfield and Kernutt continued his strong afternoon, finishing with his third major. But Peel maintained command, generating repeat inside\u201150s and extending their lead past 80-points as they ticked into triple\u2011figures.<\/p>\n
The Eagles created chances early in the final term but couldn\u2019t convert, while the Thunder continued to hit the scoreboard at the other end.<\/p>\n
A brilliant running finish from Hewett in the closing minutes provided a late highlight for West Coast, showcasing the midfielder\u2019s burst and composure.<\/p>\n
Senior defender Tom Cole also impressed with his on\u2011field leadership, helping guide the developing group through challenging periods of the game.<\/p>\n
Peel finished 93-points clear, with the Eagles now shifting their focus to round one. The hit\u2011out offered valuable learnings for the evolving squad as they prepare to face Perth next Friday at Mineral Resources Park at 2.10pm.<\/p>\n
WEST COAST \u00a0 1.2 \u00a02.2 \u00a0 4.3 \u00a0 5.6 \u00a0 (36)<\/p>\n
PEEL THUNDER \u00a07.1 \u00a0 13.4 \u00a0 18.5 \u00a0 \u00a020.9 \u00a0(129)<\/p>\n
GOALS
West Coast: Kernutt (3), Macrae, Hewett.
Peel Thunder: Tregenza (5), Nicholls (4), Murray (4), Kickett (2), Tardew, Cossor, Whan, Cox, Riddle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Peel Thunder prove too strong in final pre-season hit out at Mineral Resources Park By westcoasteagles.com.au West Coast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,83,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-570451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-text","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}