WAFL 2025: Peel Thunder coach Adam Read says plenty of valuable lessons to be learnt from East Perth loss

Peel coach Adam Read says their 38-point loss to East Perth was a valuable learning experience for the inexperienced members of his squad after their midfield was dominated. The Thunder were soundly beaten at Sullivan Logistics Stadium as East Perth exacted a small measure of revenge for their grand final loss at the hands of Peel last year. After a tight opening term, the hosts progressively pushed the match further away from Peel and the lead ballooned out late as East Perth ran out 13.8 (86) to 7.6 (48) winners. For Read, the loss started in midfield, where the Royals tagged Neil Erasmus — who won the Simpson Medal for best on ground in last year’s decider — and limited the Fremantle youngster to just 16 disposals. “They’re a team that doesn’t usually tag, so that was something different they did and threw at us. We probably struggled to adjust as quick as we’d like, both in the box and on-field,” Read said. “They identified that they want to shut him down, and they did it. We’ve got strategies in place if that happens, and we pull those levers to try and rectify the problems and help Neil out where we could. “But no matter what we did, we just couldn’t get him into the game as much as we’d like, or get our ascendancy in the contest.” Read said outside of the experienced Will Brodie, the rest of Peel’s midfield were young and green, and that also played into the Royals’ dominance. “It’s a good learning, not just for (Neil), but our entire midfield, right? We had a pretty young crew going through there,” Read said. “Archie Caldow, Josh Mathey, Austin Polmear and Will York, they’re all in their first five games of senior WAFL footy, so it’s a good learning for them about what to do when teams do do that to us. “Neil, you can never question his competitiveness, he always battles hard, but it’s tough if you’re not getting the help that’s required and I felt like we probably didn’t help him enough.” Promising Dockers ruck Liam Reidy went toe-to-toe with East Perth star Scott Jones but while the possession and hit-out count was relatively even, Read said they comprehensively lost the stoppage battle. “It was a fairly even battle, but I think they got more out of Jones’ hits than we got out of Reidy’s and even when Reidy did get his hand to the ball, it felt like it was going their way a lot, which automatically puts you on the back foot,” Read said. “Whether it’s center bounce or through the midfield, all of a sudden the momentum is going their way, and it’s really hard to absorb that pressure coming and get a disposal away or get any field position.” Read was also full of praise for Peel defender Michael Sellwood, who had 20 disposals, as well as Dockers-listed duo Hugh Davies and Ollie Murphy as the defensive pair found themselves under siege for stretches. “It’s a hard day at the office when you giving up all that territory from the midfield. Hugh Davies battles his heart out week in and week out and there were a couple of efforts today that really shone through,” Read said. “Ollie Murphy, for a guy that’s still building his body, he put his body on the line number of times today and copped some big hits, which is a real testament to his character and the growth in his game.” The Thunder take on West Perth at home next Saturday.