DESPITE sitting second on the ladder with three wins in a row, Peel Thunder coach Cam Shepherd says his side must not get ahead of themselves.
The Thunder has won three games on the trot for the first time since 2009 and could make history on the weekend if they beat Claremont and win four straight games for the first time in club history.
The Thunder has won three in a row twice before, once in 2002 and 2009.
If Peel is to win against the Tigers on the weekend, they will equal the total of games won last year, after just five games.
The Thunder could also go to the top of the ladder with a win as current ladder-leaders Subiaco have a bye.
The Lions have a superior percentage but if Peel have a similar win to the one over East Perth, they could find themselves the ladder leaders.
Shepherd said they can’t get too carried away with the fact they are on a winning streak.
“If you are worrying about ladder position you are in the wrong game,” he said. “We are just looking at the next game and we think we can still improve. We have to make sure we don’t take it easy and prepare correctly.” This Sunday, Peel Thunder (3-1) comes up against bottom of the ladder Claremont (0-4) at 2.15pm at Bendigo Bank Stadium.
Peel Thunder will be hoping to get up this week as they face a tough three weeks following the game.
Peel will then travel to Perth to take on the fifth-placed Swan Districts before hosting reigning premiers Subiaco and then play a tough game in Fremantle against the in-form South Fremantle.
One of the reasons for Peel’s rise to the top so far this year has been the chemistry between their midfielders.
Shepherd highlighted Gerald Ugle, Leroy Jetta and Brayden Lawler as some of the midfielders who have stood up this year. He has also been impressed with some of the young Dockers.
“Connor Blakely, Lachlan Weller and Ed Langdon have all been good this year,” he said
“A good football side is strong in the midfield. I think we got good player s in all sections.”
Last weekend, Peel completed a double derby victory after a strong win in the WAFL mini-derby, a day before Fremantle scored nine first quarter goals to help defeat West Coast Eagles.
The Thunder defeated East Perth at Medibank Stadium after a strong second-half performance.
Despite an inaccurate first half that saw the Thunder kick two goals and nine behinds, Peel were able to run away with the game to win, 9.16 (70) to 7.5 (47).
Fielding 12 Fremantle Dockers compared to East Perth’s eight Eagles, Peel put in a dominant display to hand East Perth their second loss of the season.
Peel finished the game with 13 more scoring shots and were led by Dockers’ Tendai Mzungu (27 disposals), defender Alex Pearce and Jacob Ballard (29 touches).
Captain Brendon Jones was again one of the standouts with 27 disposals, six marks and a team-high six inside 50s.
Former Essendon livewire Leroy Jetta also continued to improve on his strong start of the season for Peel with 18 disposals and two goals.
West Coast Eagle-listed player Brant Colledge was a shining light for East Perth with 38 disposals and two goals.
Peel also managed its first win of the season in the Colts with a 12.10 (82) to 9.8 (62) win over East Perth.
Michael Curnow led the way with 28 touches while young star Noah Hura racked up 27 disposals, eight marks and booted a goal.
Dylan Winton also continued to impress with 20 touches while Nicholas Merritt and Jake Greenwell booted two goals each for the Thunder. Peel have moved to eighth spot in the Colts competition ahead of their clash with second place Claremont this weekend.
Peel was only let down by the Reserves who lost 8.9 (57) to East Perth’s 14.10 (94).
Peel had more than 130 disposals less than East Perth with Brennan Gillam the only player to get more than 20 disposals for the Thunder, finishing the game with 27 touches and a goal.
Shannon Thomas had 34 disposals for the Royals and kicked four goals while Eagle Mark Hutchings had 23 touches and a game-high eight inside 50s.
Peel Thunder are sitting last in the reserves competition with four straight losses to start the season.
The Claremont Reserv-es side sit in fourth spot after four games with two wins and two losses.
