O'Brien pinching himself to be part of Peel success on return 'home'Thursday, September 15, 2016 - 11:29 PM - by Chris Pike

RORY O'Brien could only dream of finals during his first 92 games with Peel Thunder and hope for them upon his return in 2016, but ahead of Sunday's preliminary final he is pinching himself over how his return to his original club has panned out.

O'Brien grew up in Mandurah wanting to play with Peel Thunder and got his wish making a league debut in 2005 going on to play 92 games either side of a stint in the SANFL with North Adelaide in 2008.

He won two fairest and best awards with the Thunder but there was nothing resembling team success on the horizon when he decided to leave for East Fremantle in 2011.

With the Sharks he went on to play 108 games, win the 2013 Sandover Medal, play for Western Australia, win three Lynn Medals and take part in the first finals of his career including the 2012 grand final.

He was still captain of East Fremantle in 2015 but with coach Steve Malaxos having moved on and with the travel to and from Mandurah taking its toll with a wife and three children along with a burgeoning work life needing more time, it was either Peel or bust in 2016.

The 30-year-old was prepared to retire from WAFL football if a return to Peel wasn’t able to be sorted out, but he got the green light to return just before the pre-season matches began and has been every bit the consistent player he has been his whole 222-game WAFL career.

Splitting his time as a midfielder and half-forward, O'Brien again played every game for Peel averaging 27.8 disposals but what means more to him is being part of team success.

Peel might have made finals for the first time in history last year, but upon O'Brien's return in 2016 they were still yet to win one. That all changed the past two weeks with a 49-point elimination final win over East Perth and then 60-point first semi-final victory over West Perth.

The Thunder now takes on South Fremantle in Sunday's preliminary final at Fremantle Community Bank Oval. A win and Peel is in its first ever Grand Final and O'Brien is proud to be part of the current success.

"It's sort of surreal to now be part of winning finals at this club. You dream about playing and winning finals, and that's why we all play football. To now do it with the club that give me my first opportunity and with the bunch of blokes we've got, it's fantastic," O'Brien said.

"There's a buzz in the stomach and now come Sunday on 2.30 it's going to be an exciting time. In my first few years of playing league footy we copped a few beltings along the way but you learn from them and as a club we've got stronger and stronger.

"To now be back involved at the club and be part of the first winning final two weeks ago and then their second final last weekend, and to be heading into a prelim final it's an exciting time for the club, team and the local area.

"They have been wanting success for the last 20 years and it's now happening, but anything can still happen on Sunday."

O'Brien will always be thankful and proud of his five-year run at East Fremantle which brought him a Sandover Medal, Grand Final appearance, three fairest and best awards and being appointed captain.

It also gave him the chance to play for an extended period with younger brother Brock, but he can't help feel like he has returned home on being back at Peel to finish his career.

"I did love my time at East Fremantle and I had some of the best years of my football there. I really enjoyed it and I got to play with Brock, had a great coach in Steve Malaxos and I made a lot of close mates who I'll have the rest of my life," he said.

"My time there was fantastic but I'm based in Mandurah, I'm a Mandurah boy and it probably does feel like coming home. To now have WAFL football in the town I grew up and to come back to play is an opportunity I was pretty lucky to get.

"And to have my kids there every week and at training sessions it's been really special. They did love being involved at East Fremantle, but it was too far to come to training like my daughter and son can now with Peel. It has been a bit of a homecoming and I can't believe how lucky I was to get the chance."

Much has been made of Peel featuring 17 Fremantle-listed players in the final wins so far over East Perth and West Perth, but what hasn’t been highlighted has been the impact O'Brien, Josh Bootsma, Blair Bell, Brayden Lawler and captain Gerald Ugle have had.

Not only that, but Peel has a good group of players who are available to be picked if spots open up including Andrew Haydon who has emerged as a quality midfielder this season, former AFL player Brad Walsh, the reliable Ben Hancock and talented youngsters Alexander Bray and Calvin Thorne.

"They're exciting players and a great bunch of guys. Blair Bell is a diamond in the rough coming from the PFL winning the Ross Elliott Medal last year and his immediate impact on WAFL games has been fantastic," O'Brien said.

"For a guy his size I don’t think I've seen someone take a pack mark or shrug off people like he does. But it's not just us five there's Alex Bray, Andrew Haydon, Ben Hancock and guys like that who are just missing out as our emergencies who've played great football this year.

"They are still excited to be part of the squad and we are building as a club and we are one united group all committed to achieving success together. We know that if we lose some of our Fremantle guys we've got some other talented players of our own to call upon who will do the job for us.

"Andrew Haydon came with Blair Bell from South Mandurah and he's been fantastic as well. If we can keep those guys all around the club for the next three to five years we'll be really strong."

There is every chance that Peel's best two performances of the season have come the past two weeks in the finals victories over East Perth and West Perth. O'Brien is confident a bit more improvement again on Sunday could see them advance to the Grand Final.

"We think we improved from the East Perth game to the West Perth one, and now we are working on a few things to improve more this week," he said.

"To be able to have near on the same side week in, week out gives us great confidence and we back our structures and players to play their role. We know that if we get 22 guys doing that we are a big chance to get the result we want."

O'Brien did feel some pressure heading into the elimination final at Bendigo Bank Stadium against East Perth given Peel was playing at home and still hadn’t won a final. But once he was able to sense the win was theirs, he made sure he soaked up being part of that historic first finals win.

"It was a great feeling because there was a bit of pressure on us going into that game. A few people said we should win but there's two teams out there with 22 quality players on either side so anything could still happen," O'Brien said.

"For us to be able to get the job done against East Perth in a final and get that first win, especially after losing to them last year, was a good achievement. We sat back in the change rooms and thought it was great for the club, but we moved our focus on pretty quick."

As luck would have it, Peel's two finals losses last year were at the expense of West Perth and East Perth. Now this year the Thunder's first two finals wins have come against the Falcons and Royals.

O'Brien has no doubt that coach Cam Shepherd as well as Ugle and Lawler in particular took some satisfaction in that.

"A few guys played in those losses last year like Gerald Ugle and Brayden Lawler, and I know beating them this year meant a bit more than others even though it was a great feeling for all of us," he said.

"Both of them have played in two of the last three grand finals so they are quality and experienced sides, so to beat them with their finals experience was a great effort. No doubt Shep and Brayden and Gerald were especially happy to get that done."

Fremantle Oval is now a ground that Peel's Fremantle-listed players know well heading into Sunday's preliminary final and O'Brien also has good memories of having won his last six derbies at the ground while with East Fremantle.

"Fremantle Oval is probably one of the better decks in the competition and it's probably the one ground that stays consistently good whether it rains or whatever the weather is like," O'Brien said.

"We're excited to play there on Sunday but really we wouldn’t care where the game is, it's just exciting to be part of a preliminary final. They're a quality outfit and obviously I've played enough derbies against them and they all receive big build-ups.

"Peel and South have always had a bit of a rivalry as well given a lot of players down that way came to South before Peel existed so there's a natural rivalry there. I'm looking forward to taking on the team who finished second on the ladder. We'll be ready to take that challenge on come Sunday."