Grand Final Match Report: East Perth vs Peel Thunder

Grand Final Match Report: East Perth vs Peel Thunder
by Liam Maher

The biggest game of the year was here as East Perth and Peel Thunder went head-to-head in the 2024 WAFL Grand Final. In the biggest match of the season, both teams put everything on the line to secure their dreams of winning this year’s premiership. After a fantastic season, the Royals couldn’t get that last win, ultimately falling short to Peel Thunder in the final game of the season, (14.8 – 92) to (8.11 – 59).

There was electricity in the air as the game got underway, the excitement and nerves of players and fans felt right around the stadium. Both teams started the game less than perfect, as skill errors were evident in their gameplay. The tackling game from East Perth was on show early, making it hard for the opposition to get any ball movement away from the stoppages. This reflected how a lot of the first quarter played out, as there were lots of stoppages throughout the first quarter. The contested possession numbers were high to start the game.

 As the game progressed, both teams battled hard to create opportunities at goal. East Perth scored the first goal of the day as Sam Van Diemen got free at a forward-50 stoppage to snap home his first of three goals. The second goal didn’t come until late in the quarter when returning co-captain Hamish Brayshaw scored from a set shot to give the Royals a five-point lead heading into the first break (2.2 – 14 to 1.3 – 9). Brayshaw started the game strong with 10 disposals in the first quarter. Stan Wright also had nine disposals to start the game.

The second quarter started with East Perth on the back foot. Their tackling and pressure game from the first quarter had dropped off, and Peel Thunder started to get more free-flowing ball movement up the ground. The skills from both teams were quite scrappy this quarter, which gave each team a chance to attack. As the quarter went on, the Royals started to find some run and got some of the slick ball movement we have become accustomed to watching this season.

Despite losing the inside 50 count for the quarter (14 to seven), East Perth managed to keep the scoreboard tight heading into half time, only behind by nine points (4.7 – 31 to 3.4 – 22). James Sturrock was the surprise goalkicker in the second quarter as he snapped home just his second major of the season. The first half was a relatively even matchup across. Both teams recorded the same number of disposals (162) to half time as they set themselves to crack in for the second half.

As the third quarter started, you could see that the intensity of the game had picked up from both sides. After a very tight and somewhat scrappy first half, both teams looked to make the most of their opportunities in the second half. East Perth made a few positional changes to start the quarter, with Harrison Macreadie playing forward and Liam Tedesco moving on the ball. While these positional changes appeared to be having a positive impact, the Royals struggled at times to stop the run of Peel Thunder. The pressure applied at stoppages from the East Perth players was great. Tackling was a big feature again, although at times, their efforts went unrewarded. Despite these efforts, when Peel Thunder had the ball, they were able to create plenty of chances for their forwards and kicked six goals for the quarter.

Although the game looked to be getting away from East Perth on the scoreboard, the efforts from players should they were not finished. As the Royals started to find some run, they created chances of their own on the attack. East Perth had five scoring shots from nine inside 50s in the third quarter. Sam Van Diemen kicked two this quarter, including one on the siren to give the Royals some momentum heading into the final term. The margin was out to 26 points at the final break, but the game was far from finished (10.8 – 68 to 6.6 – 42).

The fourth quarter began with East Perth having all the play. They were shutting down Peel Thunder’s attacks and creating opportunities going forward. The fight from all the Royals to turn this game around was impressive to watch. East Perth proved they were in this match and out to steal victory. Much of this quarter was played in the Royals’ favour however, putting it on the scoreboard was a problem. Some inaccuracy in front of the goal made it hard for them to reel in Peel Thunder’s lead. Tom Medhat scored the first goal for the quarter 11 minutes in. Harrison Macreadie scored the next to reduce the margin to ten points, with enough time left for East Perth to regain the lead.

The Royals had kept their opponents from scoring for 22 minutes in the quarter as they tried to mount a comeback win. Unfortunately, Peel Thunder eventually broke through to score their first goal of the quarter, and then a minute later, they scored another, putting the lead back to 22 points with time running out. East Perth battled hard to try and get the ball forward, but Peel Thunder refused to let them back in again. Peel Thunder found another couple of late goals to put the game beyond the Royals. Despite a massive effort to keep the game competitive and fight back into a position where they could win the game, East Perth couldn’t get the job done on the day, going down by 33 points at the final siren (14.8 – 92 to 8.11 – 59).

 Scott Jones (16 disposals, seven tackles, 51 hitouts) had another standout performance on the day. Stan Wright (28 disposals, 20 kicks, four inside 50s) was great again off the halfback line. Liam Tedesco (21 disposals, nine tackles, six inside 50s) was also among the best for the Royals on the day.

A massive congratulations to all East Perth players and coaches after a fantastic season. The team can hold their heads high after courageous performances from all involved in the Grand Final. While we didn’t get the result we wanted, the club should be proud of everything they have achieved on and off the field this year. The focus now shifts to the off-season as the club will look to build off a fantastic 2024 season and hopefully take it that one step further in 2025!