The Peel Thunderbirds will have their eyes fixed on a possible move into top spot when their season resumes with a game against South Fremantle at Mandurah’s Bendigo Bank Stadium on Sunday.
Peel entered last week’s bye round in red-hot form after disposing of West Perth and just missed out on moving into first on percentage when ladder leaders East Fremantle held off Subiaco by nine points.
If the result of that game had been within a goal, Peel would have claimed top spot.
But while the Thunderbirds narrowly missed out, their chances of taking over favouritism for the minor premiership are significantly better this week as they take on a South Fremantle team sitting eighth on the ladder with a 1-12 record.
Peel – who boast a 12-1 record – will head into their clash with the Bulldogs heavily favoured, while East Fremantle will take on a Claremont side desperate to keep its finals hopes alive.
But while the Thunderbirds have a genuine shot at grabbing first place, coach Mark Fenton says his side can’t take South Fremantle lightly, and will need to earn their way to the top.
“The only way we move into first is with a full four-quarter effort, because nothing else will be enough,” he said.
“We’re looking for clean ball movement, teamwork and a professional outing in this game because with finals so close you need to be playing you best footy.
“We want top spot, but we know we have to earn it.”
Fenton said his side was excited to return after the bye week, with the final three games of the regular season ahead of them before they kick off a finals campaign.
“We’re really keen to get back on the field – to be honest we’ve been in “pre-finals” mode for a couple of weeks now, so we’re just looking to keep the ball rolling,” he said.
“This is the business end of the year – you want to be in form and we were before the bye, so we need to keep that alive.”
Both Hannah Church and Kerrilee Brown will play their 50th games for Peel in the South Fremantle clash.
The game kicks off at 2pm at Bendigo Bank Stadium, with the reserves and youth girls games to be played beforehand.