Match Review: Peel Thunder v Perth

PEEL THUNDER 12.12 (84) defeated PERTH 12.9 (81)

All of Perth's frustrations of missing out on finals for the last 21 years went on the line for the trip to Mandurah on Saturday but in the end Peel Thunder wasn’t in the mood for charity and gave the Demons a horrible wait for the next 24 hours.

Even though Perth had struggled the rest of the season to find wins after opening 2019 with five in-a-row, all the Demons had to do was win at David Grays Arena on Saturday afternoon and they would be guaranteed of playing finals for the first time since 1997.

That proved a task beyond them but it was a game that went right down to the wire.

Peel dominated the opening term with eight scoring shots to one and three goals to one to go into the quarter-time interval with a 17-point advantage.

Perth was able to turn things around with a similarly dominant second quarter which saw them kick four goals to two and be only one-point behind by half-time.

The Demons then continued that momentum in the third term by kicking five goals to four and that saw them in front by two points by three quarter-time.

It just seemed destined for Perth's finals hopes to always go down to the wire and that's exactly how it panned out. Brent Edmonds put the Demons up by six points early in the last term but then Gerald Ugle, in his 100th game for Peel and against his former team, drew scores level.

Blake Johnson and Ben Hancock then traded goals for either side to leave scores tied head into time-on.

In amongst Perth scoring four behinds, Peel kicked the last goal of the game courtesy of Sam Sturt and that was enough to secure the 12.12 (84) to 12.9 (81).

The win sees Peel end the season at 7-11 as they miss finals for a second straight season following the 2016 and 2017 premierships.

But for Perth, it meant they ended the season winning just four of their last 13 games and even after Saturday's loss there was hope of making finals should the West Coast Eagles lose to East Fremantle on Sunday. However, it wasn’t to be and the Demons' finals drought stretches to 22 years.

Clint Jones racked up another 33 possessions for the Demons while Corey Yeo finished with 28 disposals, Brant Colledge 24, Matthew Taylor 23, Michael Sinclair 22, Jacob Payne 20. Meanwhile, Christian Eyres finished with 56 hit outs and Dakota Baldwin-Wright 21.