It took a nail-biting finish and a couple of points in crunch time but Peel Thunder was able to claim a thrilling two-point win over Claremont in mud-spattered conditions at Bendigo Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Consecutive behinds to Claremont superstar Jye Bolton evened the scores up with under three minutes left in the game, but Peel was able to snag a couple of their own minor scores to regain a two-point lead in the dying stages.
The Tigers came hard at the Thunder, transitioning forward with just 30 seconds left, but Peel’s defence stood tall as the side clung on for a heart-stopping 8.5 (53) to 6.15 (51) victory.
Accuracy in front of goal allowed Peel to get the jump on Claremont in the early going.
The Tigers were well and truly in the contest around the ground but errant kicking allowed Peel to take a nine-point lead into quarter time.
A stout Peel defence was able to keep Claremont goalless in the second quarter, as Haydn Matthews and omitted Fremantle forward Shane Kersten nailed majors for the Thunder to stretch their lead to 23 points at the long break.
But the third quarter was Claremont’s turn to be a defensive powerhouse.
Bolton led the way as the Tigers dominated play and kept Peel from scoring for the entire quarter, booting three of their own goals to cut the margin to a single point at three-quarter time.
Claremont had the upper-hand to start the fourth but it was miraculous snap-goal from Cam Sutcliffe that saw Peel open the scoring for the term and break their drought.
The sides tussled hard for the lead but it was Peel 19-year-old Michael Tassone that allowed the Thunder to break away.
Tassone was able to find space at centre-half-forward and showed poise and smarts recognising a vacant goal square and banging home a major on the run from outside 50 to raise Peel’s lead to nine points.
The Thunder looked all but home until an opportunistic goal to Claremont’s Zac Langdon brought his side within two points.
The Tigers continued to surge forward and missed a pair of chances to take the lead when Bolton booted two consecutive behinds.
The Thunder were able to collect two behinds from inside 50 entries and defend a Claremont rebound, which was enough to seal the game.
Fans were treated to a prolific midfield battle with Peel’s Rory O’Brien going head-to-head with Bolton for most of the day.
The two Sandover medallists put in huge performances for their sides, as O’Brien finished with 22 touches and Bolton 29.
Peel’s Ryan Nyhuis led all possession winners with 30 disposals.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
