Suban the hero as Bulldogs snatch win from Thunder

SOUTH Fremantle ensured it will go into this Saturday's clash with Subiaco with plenty of momentum after Nick Suban kicked a stunning match-winner to beat a Peel Thunder side he won two premierships with on Saturday.

South Fremantle went to Mandurah's David Grays Arena on Saturday as the form team in the WAFL having won six straight matches heading into a bye in Round 10, while Peel was attempting to avoid a fourth successive defeat.

The Bulldogs were on top most of the afternoon despite the absence of Haiden Schloithe, Shaun Bewick and Brandon Donaldson in what was Brock Higgins' 100th WAFL appearance for the Mighty Red V.

But Peel worked its way on top either side of three quarter-time. However, South Fremantle had the final say in the contest with Zac Strom bringing them within touch and then Nick Suban finishing the job with his first goal of 2019 against a Peel team he played in the 2016 and 2017 premierships with.

That was enough to give South Fremantle the 10.14 (74) to 11.5 (71) victory to make it seven consecutive victories to take into this Saturday's clash with Subiaco at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

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Mason Shaw continued his outstanding form as the best key forward in the competition so far in 2019, kicking another four goals for South Fremantle from 11 kicks and eight marks. 

Zac Strom provided a terrific second marking option in attack for the Bulldogs too booting three majors from 16 possessions and nine marks.

On top of kicking the winning goal late in the piece, Nick Suban produced a best on ground display for South Fremantle made up of 26 possessions and 11 marks.

Jacob Dragovich also collected 20 disposals for the Bulldogs, Brendan Verrier 20, Zac Dent 18, Jake Florenca 17, Steve Verrier 17, Dylan Main 17 and Tom Blechynden 17.

Peel Thunder and South Fremantle were both fresh coming into Saturday's clash in Mandurah and in the end it produced a thrilling finish with a dual Peel premiership player kicking the winning goal to extend the Bulldogs' winning streak.

Both teams were coming off the bye in Round 9 after playing in the WA Day Round which saw Peel suffer a hefty loss on the Sunday to Subiaco and then South Fremantle overcome injuries to key players to beat East Fremantle by 32 points in the Foundation Derby.

That set the stage for an intriguing battle at David Grays Arena on Saturday with Peel needing a win to try and break back into the top five and South Fremantle looking to maintain pace with Subiaco ahead of next Saturday's top-of-the-table battle.

Peel started promisingly with the opening goal of the game thanks to Bailey Banfield but that would be their only score of the first term. South Fremantle would kick two goals through Brendan Verrier and Mason Shaw, but they also kicked five behinds to limit their advantage to 11 points.

The Thunder's accuracy did keep them in the contest in the second term with the home side kicking three goals for the quarter with two of those courtesy of Harley Bennell as he closes in on an AFL return with Fremantle. 

One of those was a stunning effort on the run which fully put his troublesome calves to the test.

But South Fremantle also kicked another three goals for the second quarter to see the visitors extend their lead to 14 points by half-time.

South Fremantle's lead then grew to 20 points to start the second half with a quick goal to Zac Strom, but Peel soon responded in kind thanks to Corey Morris.

The Bulldogs twice reclaimed a 20-point lead after goals to debutant Kyle Hamersley and then Shaw, but then the Thunder picked up momentum for the first time in the contest to finish the third quarter with two goals to Cam McCarthy and another to Hugh Dixon.

That meant South Fremantle had just a two-point lead by three quarter-time and then Peel took the advantage to start the fourth term when McCarthy kicked his third goal in no time.

Banfield soon added a second and the Thunder were up by nine points, but the Bulldogs wouldn’t be denied.

Strom's second goal made it a two-point ball game at the 22-minute mark and then three minutes later, Nick Suban became the hero when he kicked the match-winning goal for South Fremantle against the team he played in the 2016 and 2017 WAFL premierships with.

Peel hosted South Fremantle at Mandurah's David Grays Arena on Saturday in the only colts contest of the day with the Thunder continuing their impressive form beating the Bulldogs by 48 points.

South Fremantle came into the game with two wins from its opening seven matches but they had some momentum following a 17-point win on WA Day against East Fremantle prior to the Round 9 bye.

Peel came out flying from the start and delivered a huge first quarter which would set the tone for the rest of the game. The Thunder kicked six goals to one in the opening quarter to head into the quarter-time break leading by five goals.

South Fremantle did take advantage of the breeze in the second quarter to manage three goals to one, but Peel still held a commanding 22-point advantage at the major break.

With the help of having the breeze at their back in the last quarter, Peel put its foot down in the third term piling on six goals to just one from South Fremantle to open up a 50-point lead by three quarter-time.

It was two goals apiece in the last quarter as Peel ended up winning 15.8 (98) to 7.8 (50).

Ira Jetta kicked two of South Fremantle's seven goals for the game to go with 18 possessions and 10 tackles.

Jaxon Bellchambers also collected 16 disposals for the Bulldogs, Toby McQuilkin 14, Jarrod Salmeri 14, George Wessels 14, Eric Botha 14 and Jacob Sax 14.

Nash Miller produced 12 possessions, 31 hit outs, six marks and a goal as well in the ruck.

Then in the reserves contest on Saturday and Peel Thunder recorded a commanding 19.6 (120) to 7.13 (55) victory over South Fremantle.

Guy Barnes was impressive for the Bulldogs with 23 possessions while Trent Reed collected 22 disposals, Zane Sumich 22, Andre Coutinho 20, Matthew Ward 19, Blaine Johnson 18, Enrique Aiken-Featherstone 18, Adam McIntosh 17 and ruckman Blair Della Franca 16 to go with 37 hit outs.
 

WAFL ROUND 10 – DAVID GRAYS ARENA

SOUTH FREMANTLE        2.5    5.8    8.10    10.14    (74)
PEEL THUNDER            1.0    4.0    9.2    11.5    (71)

SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Shaw 4; Z Strom 3; Suban, Hamersley, B Verrier.
Best: Suban, Dent, Z Strom, B Verrier, Shaw, Dragovich, Florenca, S Verrier.
PEEL THUNDER – Goals: McCarthy 3; H Bennell, Banfield 2; Morris, Dixon, Bell, Colyer.
Best: Nyhuis, Banfield, Schultz, Watson, Matthews, Colyer.