The Peel Thunderbirds ended their season with a bang when they demolished South Fremantle to the tune of 86 points thanks to an 11-goal haul from star forward Kira Phillips on Sunday.
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Phillips entered the round trailing the league’s leading goal-kicker by a hefty eight majors, but the AFL Women’s talent didn’t hesitate to chase down the total, claiming a club record haul and topping the WA Women’s Football League goal scoring for 2017.
Her stunning form in the forward 50m arch was the catalyst for a huge win for the Thunderbirds, as they walloped South Fremantle 4.2 (26) to 17.10 (112).
“We knew Kira was on early and when you know she’s on fire you just need to get the ball to her,” Peel coach Mark Fenton said.
“We shifted our forward pockets to the flank and our flanks to the wing and it was just a matter of pumping the ball her way and getting her one-out.
“She’s a mercurial player, all she needs is good delivery and she’ll find the goals.”
The win concluded a roller coaster season for the Thunderbirds’ league side, who missed the finals by one win after finishing their 14-game year with a 7-7 record.
Player development was the key for Peel throughout the season, with a number of young players not only making their debuts, but becoming key cogs of the league team.
They contributed 19 players to WA’s state sides, produced several all-Australian selections and gave regular games to five players still eligible to play in the youth girls.
Fenton said the club’s willingness to play their youth had put them in good stead for the future.
“I think in a few years we’ll start to see the benefits of giving these girls time in our top side,” he said.
“Sabreena Duffy and Courtney Hodder stepped into league footy seamlessly. Both of them were probably in our league side’s top three players.
“Our youth girls have been dominant for a while now so if we can start introducing more and more of them into league footy then we’ll be pretty well-placed for the coming seasons.”
The Thunderbirds will now take a break before turning their focus to an off-season program led by strength and conditioning Brad Davis.
The vote count for the WAWFL’s best and fairest will be held in a fortnight.