Peel Thunder have turned on the heat in a complete performance to dominate winless West Perth by 71 points at Lane Group Stadium. The Thunder sliced and diced the Falcons' battling team defence, transitioning the ball with ease all afternoon to win 21.9 (135) to 10.4 (64) on Saturday.
O'Driscoll's Emotional Goal
Nathan O'Driscoll's goal in the first quarter was the highlight of the afternoon, with teammates and the crowd showing their appreciation for the midfielder after an admission on social media about his years-long mental health battle. The 23-year-old finished his day with 28 disposals and six inside 50s.
Midfield Dominance
Midfield duo Scott Tuia and Lachlan Tardrew proved their WAFL State squad selections were the right call. Tuia finished with three goals along with 20 disposals, while Tardrew was everywhere with 29 touches and six tackles. Key forwards Corey Tregenza (four goals) and Charlie Nicholls (two) were a handful inside 50 for the Falcons defenders, towering over their opponents with multiple contested marks leading to goals.
Debutants Shine
Dockers 2025 draftee Leon Kickett was a late inclusion and joined in on the fun with plenty of Thunder players getting their lick of the ice cream in the big win. The 19-year-old small forward put through three majors on debut for the league side, along with fellow draftee Toby Whan playing his best game since debuting three weeks ago.
West Perth's Struggles
West Perth skipper Luke Meadows kicked his first goal in his first league game returning from a serious ankle injury that kept him out of the majority of last season. Kane Bevan was a lone warrior for the Falcons throughout the day, kicking his two goals in the third term.
Peel's Dominance
After back-to-back one-point defeats, Peel started like a house on fire and never let up all day, piling on the goals all afternoon with 56 inside 50s to 36 showing the dominance the Thunder had all day. West Perth were unable to defend Peel's ball movement all day, giving up uncontested marks around the ground and letting the Thunder stroll into the 50 and pick off targets as they please. It's the Falcons' second 70-point loss for the season in what has been a disappointing start to the year for the only remaining winless side.
Scoreboard
PEEL THUNDER: 6.3, 12.4, 18.7, 21.9 (135)
WEST PERTH: 2.1, 3.2, 7.3, 10.4 (64)
Goals – PEEL THUNDER: C Tregenza 4, S Tuia, L Kickett, T Whan 3, C Nicholls, T Murray 2, J Draper, A Sweid, N O'Driscoll, O McDonald.
WEST PERTH: J Brooks, K Bevan, T Keitel, L Meadows 2, C Lynch, C Livingstone.
Best – PEEL THUNDER: L Tardrew, S Tuia, N O'Driscoll, T Whan, C Tregenza, A Riddle.
WEST PERTH: K Bevan, T Keitel, C Mulvogue, L Meadows.
Injuries – PEEL THUNDER: O Murphy (illness) replaced in the selected side by L Kickett.
WEST PERTH: Connor West (head) didn't take part after halftime.
Umpires: C Gibson, J Wedgwood, L Jago, T O'Shea.
Crowd: About 1500 at Lane Group Stadium.
