Round 8 – Claremont v Peel Thunder Match ReportMonday, May 8, 2017 - 6:32 AM - by Chris Pike

REIGNING premiers Peel Thunder returned to the winner's list on Saturday holding Claremont to one first half goal to end up winning by 23 points at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

Peel and Claremont both came into the contest on losing runs with the Thunder having lost their last four games, and the Tigers their previous three ahead of the clash on neutral turf at the port with Claremont Oval still unavailable.

But Peel started the game with a goal in the first minute to captain Gerald Ugle and that set the tone for the afternoon. The Thunder went on to kick the first five goals of the game with Claremont goalless until the 20-minute mark of the second quarter.

The Tigers kicked just one goal the entire first half and that set up Peel's eventual 12.6 (78) to 8.7 (55) victory.

The win improves Peel to a 3-4 record on the season and moves the reigning premiers back into fifth position at Claremont's expense. 

After starting the year with three straight wins, Claremont is now 3-4 and in sixth position after eight rounds.

Peel's premiership captain Gerald Ugle delivered his best game of the season in Saturday's win kicking four goals to go with 17 possessions and five marks.

Leroy Jetta also continued his good form as a small forward with three goals as the Thunder's two small forwards proved too elusive for the Tigers on the afternoon.

Danyle Pearce put his best foot forward to try and break back into Fremantle's AFL side with a strong showing for Peel made up of 35 possessions, six marks, six inside 50s and a goal.

Rory O'Brien also racked up 29 disposals for the Thunder while Nick Suban picked up 26 touches, Haydn Matthews 22, Luke Ryan 21, Taylin Duman 21, Brennan Cox 19 and Traye Bennell 19.

Griffin Logue did well down back opposed to Claremont's Tom Lee while Sam Collins was again strong in defence and had 16 disposals and 11 marks.

Ryan Murphy continues to be a breakout star for Claremont so far in 2017 and had another outstanding performance on Saturday with 24 possessions and two goals.

Tom Lee was the other multiple goal kicker booting two majors from just five kicks and five marks.

Mitch Andrews worked hard in the ruck for Claremont opposed to both Sean Darcy and Jonathon Griffin, and ended up with 17 touches and 25 hit outs.

The other exciting sign for Claremont was the debut for the club of former Peel and Fremantle player Anthony Morabito. He showed just what he's capable of when healthy by delivering 25 possessions, five marks and five tackles.

Ryan Lim also picked up 25 disposals for the Tigers, Keifer Yu 24, Tom Ledger 22, Ryan Neates 22, Ian Richardson 21, Bailey Banfield 21 and Jared Hardisty 21 to go with seven tackles.

Peel started the game with a goal to Ugle after just a minute but it would be 18 minutes before their second courtesy of Brayden Lawler. But when Ugle added a second just before quarter-time, the Thunder had a handy 17-point advantage.

That grew to 30 by the time Michael Tassone and O'Brien kicked goals early in the second term.

Claremont eventually got a goal through Lee at the 20-minute mark, but that would be it for the half and Ugle booted a third to close the first half with Peel leading by a commanding 28 points.

Ugle then booted his fourth to start the third term and the game was all but over with the Thunder up by 34 points.

Ryan Murphy's first gave Claremont two for the day at the eight-minute mark of the third term but Peel responded with Jetta kicking his first.

The Tigers did kick two of the last three goals of the third quarter, but a goal to Jetta to start the last quarter put Peel up by 35 points and any chance of a Claremont comeback had been quashed.

The Tigers managed to kick four goals to two from that point on, but that only cut Peel's final winning margin to 23 points.

Peel Thunder returns home to Bendigo Bank Stadium to host the third placed Swan Districts on Saturday while Claremont is back to Fremantle Community Bank Oval to play the eighth placed Perth.

PEEL THUNDER            3.2    6.4    9.5    12.6    (78)
CLAREMONT            0.3    1.6    4.7    8.7    (55)

PEEL THUNDER – Goals: Ugle 4; Jetta 3; O'Brien, Lawler, Bell, Pearce, Tassone.
Best: Pearce, Ugle, O'Brien, Jetta, Suban, Collins, Logue, Matthews.
CLAREMONT – Goals: R Murphy, Lee 2; Bradshaw, Bolton, McCracken, Maister.
Best: R Murphy, Morabito, Lim, Yu, Banfield, Andrews, Hardisty.