Peel Thunder carved its name into the West Australian Football League history books on Sunday with their first ever grand final win.
After exposing East Perth, West Perth and South Fremantle in the three previous rounds of finals, the Thunder dismantled reigning premiers Subiaco with a blistering first quarter in the grand final, eventuating to an 8.8 (56) 11.13 (79) premiership win.
Peel opened the season-ending clash with a bang, blasting out of the blocks and piling on four goals to Subiaco’s one in the first term.
Going against the breeze failed to shake the Thunder, who posted 10 scoring shots to the Lions’ one to romp out to a 24-point lead at quarter time.
Darcy Tucker was prolific around the ground while Sandover medal runner-up Matt de Boer picked up plenty of disposals.
But Peel coughed up the chance to lead by much more at the end of the first, missing five easy chances in front of goal before registering their first.
Subiaco came to life in the second term and restricted Peel’s influence, despite the Thunder gaining the wind advantage.
With Peel’s dominance subsiding, the Lions, inspired by skipper Kyal Horsley, began to trim the lead back. They managed to cut the deficit to just 15 points at half time.
The third quarter saw the tussle for momentum continue, with neither team gaining much of an edge.
The difference came down to the sheer possession-collecting power of Peel’s Ed Langdon and Connor Blakely.
Time after time Langdon found space and showed the speed that piqued the interest of Fremantle recruiters two years ago.
The lightning-quick midfielder found himself in the open field on a number of occasions and was able to heap pressure on the Subiaco defenders.
The duo helped the Thunder to a 16-point lead at the final break, when tempers erupted on the ground.
An all-in melee saw players and coaches become animated near the sidelines before being separated and heading into their respective huddles.
The scuffle promised a heated fourth term, but failed to deliver.
Peel spearhead Shane Yarran, who marked down five goals next to his name, was forced to finish the day on the bench after suffering a severe head clash with a pair of Subiaco defenders.
After the Yarran incident, Peel booted two goals to Subiaco’s one to cruise to the club’s first league premiership.
Tendai Mzungu (31 disposals), de Boer (30), Langdon (39) and Blakely (38) all finished with 30 or more possessions for the Thunder, with Blakely receiving the Simpson medal for his best on ground performance.
Gerald Ugle also starred for the Thunder, finishing with 18 touches and three goals, while Rory O’Brien collected 26 possessions.
Brayden Lawler, Josh Deluca and de Boer all finished in double figures for tackles.
Peel will now head into the off-season as league premiers for the first time in WAFL history.