Thunder primed and ready for WAFL premiership defenceSaturday, September 2, 2017 - 9:22 AM - by Chris Pike

PEEL Thunder's WAFL premiership defence begins on Saturday back on the same venue against the same opponent where it booked a spot in last year's grand final and coach Cam Shepherd is excited about the potential of the month ahead.

After winning last year's premiership to give Peel its first flag in the WAFL since joining in 1997 in what was the club's second finals appearance, things haven’t always gone smoothly throughout 2017.

But in the end, Peel was able to win 12 matches to finish in third position and to once again earn the finals double chance.

Things get underway this Saturday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval against South Fremantle who earned the right to host the qualifying final by finishing in second position with a 16-4 record.

Shepherd is fully aware of the challenge that the Bulldogs present having beaten the Thunder in two of three meetings this season including by 32 points at Bendigo Bank Stadium last Saturday.

But he is also excited to have his team back to the finals for a third straight year and to have a chance of defending last year's premiership.

"We know that we are up against a side that has won nine straight and won 16 out of 20. They're not there without deserving to be and we know we've got a challenge on our hands, and we are looking forward to it," Shepherd said.

"We recognise that last year we achieved something that was really special and we would certainly like to get to that position again. We don’t feel pressure, we feel excited to have an opportunity again."

Peel's team will be boosted with a host of Fremantle-listed players for Saturday's qualifying final including Sam Collins, Cameron Sutcliffe, Nick Suban, Danyle Pearce, Matt Taberner, Tom Sheridan and Sean Darcy.

But despite that, Shepherd is proud of the fact that it has been a string of Peel products that have had a big say in them finishing in third position right from 244-game veteran through to Haydn Matthews, Ben Hancock, Blair Bell, Alex Bray and Calvin Thorne.

It will obviously be tight for spots now starting Saturday, but Shepherd is proud of what that group has done to help the Thunder back into the finals and he has no reason whatsoever to question the motivation levels of any player who will pull on the jumper during the finals.

"From our point of view we've introduced a lot of young men who have been part of us winning enough games to finish third and we go into a final series reasonably confident knowing we have some very good sides that we need to beat," he said.

"I can only gauge by what I see at training and they are certainly hungry and I would not think that whether they are working towards a contract, another contract or where they are at the moment would change any of that. They are proud, young and resilient who want to put their best foot forward. I think you'll find we'll put together a really strong performance on the weekend."

With Jonathon Griffin and Sean Darcy both back available for Peel as well, it might have seemed the easy choice for fellow big man Luke Strnadica to lose his place but Shepherd won't rule out playing all three of them against the Bulldogs.

"We're looking at how our match ups can affect South Fremantle's balance so there's a likelihood all three could play," Shepherd said.

"Last year we played Clarke, Apeness and Griffin in the same side so we're not necessarily ruling that out and Luke is in very good form."

Shepherd couldn’t help but be impressed with what 18-year-old Aaron Naughton produced as a defender at league level and while he's destined for higher honours in the National Draft later this year, he has already proven he's ready for senior football.

"He is a natural footballer and he's highly-regarded across Australia. He has performed really strongly in his five league games after the 18s carnival," he said.

"Aaron's got a great future ahead of him and whether he plays this week or not is something we need to work through but if he does we know that he's a good football, good at rebounding and he reads the play well."

Leroy Jetta returned to Peel this year following his year-long suspension and had a tremendous start to 2017 kicking 26 goals in the opening nine games before then playing in the WAFL's historic state game victory against the VFL in Melbourne.

But a knee injury then looked capable of ending his season but he was back for a reserves appearance in Round 21 and has played the last two games in the league side, including three goals last week against South Fremantle. 

That was a performance he needed to deliver too if he wanted to hold his spot in the Peel team come finals time.

"He needed to play well last week to get a game to be honest. He did that and I would think he will be in on the weekend," Shepherd said.

"It was a significant knee injury and he could have said this is too hard and gave or dig in and give himself a chance. But he has shone through and we are really happy to have him back."