PEEL Thunder will look to bounce back against East Fremantle this weekend in their first home game of the season following the disappointment of the seven-point loss to West Perth.
What should boost the team’s chances is that this weekend marks captain Brendon Jones’ 200th WAFL game.
Even though the Thunder would go into every game wanting to win one can’t help but feel they would crave victory that little bit more for the man that has been such a great player for the club. Peel Thunder coach Cam Shepherd said it was a great effort from Jones.
“We look forward to the game and will really enjoy celebrating the milestone,” he said.
Jones almost left the club following the 2013 season. He announced his retirement and signed with Halls Head in the Peel Football League before being coaxed out of retirement.
The decision proved to be a good one with the tough midfielder winning his second best and fairest award for the club. His commitment to the club was honoured at the start of this season with Jones regaining the club’s captaincy after a year off.
The 28-year-old is know for giving his all and has dropped under 20 disposals in a game just six times in his last 40 games.
What the Thunder will be looking for is contribution from their other players.
Peel Thunder fielded 15 Dockers-listed players against West Perth but this weekend’s team will feature far fewer with the AFL season set to commence.
The Thunder will be boosted by the inclusion of Leroy Jetta after he missed the side’s opening game due to the pending Essendon supplements saga, which came to an end on Tuesday with all charges dropped.
Thunder coach Cam Shepherd said he would also look to regain several players from the Reserves team.
“Cruize Garlett and Benjamin Hancock played well in the Reserves; I’m comfortable knowing we have the players to come in,” he said.
Shepherd said despite the loss last weekend there was still a lot of positive to come from the game.
“West Perth converted more opportunities than us,” he said. “We went inside 50 more times but kicked 11.11 so 50 per cent. We would like it to be at 60 per cent.”
Shepherd said East Fremantle would be another good challenge despite the side suffering a 47-point, 9.13 (67) to 17.12 (114), loss to Subiaco.
“They had a very good win against East Perth in round one and were defeated by last season’s premier in Subiaco last week,” Shepherd said.
“They have a very strong midfield.
“The two O’Brien’s [Brock and Rory], Liam Anthony has come back [from North Melbourne], [Jamie] McNamara, [Brad] Dalziell, there’s a number of experienced players. They also have a more than handy backline and a couple of good forwards. We look forward to the challenge.”
Peel Thunder will play East Fremantle at 2.15pm on Saturday at Bendigo Bank Stadium.
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