New Thunder skipper Ugle not afraid to aim bigTuesday, March 15, 2016 - 12:25 AM - by Chris Pike

NEW Peel Thunder captain Gerald Ugle is excited to be appointed skipper for 2016 and enjoyed the chance at playing finals in 2015, but neither he nor anyone involved in the Mandurah-based club are satisfied with just taking part in September.

Peel made the WAFL finals for the first time in the club's history since joining the league in 1997 last year.

After finishing the home and away season in third position, the Thunder went on to lose the qualifying final to West Perth at HBF Arena and then the first semi-final to East Perth at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

While it was a significant achievement for the Thunder to make the finals, nobody involved at the club is satisfied with that and their new captain is not afraid to share his ambition of winning their first premiership now.

The retirement of Brendon Jones and suspension for 2016 of Leroy Jetta opened the door for a new captain for the Thunder, and rather that give it to the returning Sandover Medallist and five-time fairest and best winner Rory O'Brien, it was Ugle who got the nod.

Full WAFL season preview  Perth update  South Fremantle update  Swan Districts update  West Perth update  East Fremantle update Claremont update 

Ugle made a significant impact kicking 38 goals in his first season with Peel in 2015 after a year back with Perth in 2014 following time in the AFL with the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

The 23-year-old was excited upon being appointed captain at Peel but he is looking to help lead the club to some finals success now that they got a taste of what it's all about in 2015.

"It's a big change for me. It's only my second year at the club and it's an absolute honour to take the reins from Brendon Jones. I'm really looking forward now to the challenges that lie ahead," Ugle said.

"We are definitely aiming to get to the finals again. A lot of boys got a taste of their first final last year and for me personally it still burns with the desire to play in a premiership team.

"Getting beaten by East Perth like we did on our home ground last year still burns so now we want to take the next step and hopefully get to play in the grand final."

Peel coach Cam Shepherd made history by leading the Thunder to their maiden finals appearance last season and he earned a contract extension in recognition for the work he did getting the team there.

While Jones and Jetta won't there this season, the return of O'Brien and Brad Walsh coming back from Carlton will certainly help along with the influx of Fremantle-listed players.

Shepherd was happy with the way the Thunder stacked up against the other seven clubs in 2015, but back-to-back premiers Subiaco remained their stumbling block and matching it with the flag favourites again for 2016 is something Peel is hoping to do.

And they get a chance to match themselves against the Lions nice and quickly taking them on in Saturday's Round 1 clash at Bendigo Bank Stadium.

"We are looking to consolidate our position. We had a wonderful year last season but we now start from scratch with everyone. We are really excited with our young list of players from the Peel region as well as obviously working together with the Fremantle alignment," Shepherd said.

"We battled against Subiaco last year but we had some good performances against the rest of the competition. We felt we made some great inroads in being competitive and we want to continue being competitive and potentially getting to where we want to finish, which is the top three.

"Any experience in a different situation helps so we'll take that finals experience on board, recognise that we are a young list but we are really enthusiastic and we are looking forward to a wonderful 2016.