PEEL Thunder will look to keep its premiership aspirations alive when they face East Perth this weekend after suffering a 109-point loss against West Perth on Sunday.
With 10 changes to its team from the previous week, it was always going to be a tough ask for Peel to even be competitive.
After a strong opening quarter, Peel could only mange two more goals for the game as West Perth went on to secure the third biggest win in WAFL finals history, 22.13 (145) to 5.6 (36).
The biggest win in finals history came in 1959 when Subiaco defeated Perth by 129 points.
It was also just the fourth final decided by more than 100 points and Peel’s lowest score since 2005.
With very few winners across the ground, Peel was led by Brennan Gillam, playing his first League game for the year, with 22 disposals.
Mitchell Gill was also good with 16 disposals and two goals while Thomas Vandeleur, one of just three Fremantle-listed players to play, collected a team-high 23 disposals.
Nicholas Rodda kicked four goals for the Falcons to be among his side’s best players.
Peel will now face East Perth in a do-or-die final at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Sunday after the Royals secured a comfortable 32-point victory against Claremont.
East Perth led by just five points at three-quarter time but ran away with the game to win, 13.5 (93) to 9.7 (61).
East Perth was led by Brendan Lee with 35 touches and goal as well as a host of West Coast Eagles-listed players led by Rowen Powell three goals and Kane Lucas 30 disposals and two goals.
In Peel’s first home final in history, the game will have the extra spice of being an alignment derby after both Peel and the Royals partnered with the Western Australian AFL sides in 2013.
Peel will be boosted by the inclusion of up to 13 Fremantle Dockers listed players as well as captain Brendon Jones and fullback Joshua Bootsma after the pair were late withdrawals on the weekend.
Likely Docker inclusions will be Lachie Weller, Connor Blakely, Tanner Smith, Jacob Ballard, Ethan Hughes, Max Duffy, Jack Hannath, Brady Grey, Zac Clarke, Hayden Crozier, Matthew Taberner, Clancee Pearce and Alex Pearce.
East Perth will likely field a similar team that played Claremont with West Coast unlikely to select many if any players from the game due to the short break leading into the club’s Friday night game against Hawthorn.
The two sides have met three times this season with East Perth winning the most recent clash by 32 points, 13.16 (94) to 8.14 (62).
Peel won the previous two matches, in round five Peel recorded a 9.16 (70) to 7.5 (47) victory and backed it up in round 12 with a 17.12 (114) to 13.14 (92) win.
