Thunder skipper Jones excited for finals debut 218 games in the makingWednesday, September 2, 2015 - 9:30 AM - by Chris Pike

AFTER 218 games at Perth and Peel, Brendon Jones had every right to think he would never get the chance to play in a WAFL final but that will now all change this Sunday for the Thunder captain against West Perth at HBF Arena.

Ever since making his league debut at Perth in 2004, Jones has been one of the best, hardest working and most consistent midfielders in the competition and he's won three fairest and best awards along the way, but what he has been craving desperately is finals success.

The closest he came in 101 games in Perth was in his final season of 2009 when the Demons just missed out on fourth position by one game, while at Peel in his previous five years the Thunder have never managed to finished better than second last.

Jones has been an outstanding player and captain in that time, though, winning two fairest and best awards and coming runner-up twice, but now things have clicked on the field with Peel winning a club-best 13 games for the season to finish in third positon and to earn a finals double chance.

The 29-year-old midfielder is proud of the superb WAFL career he has put together, but would give all those individual accolades up for the chance that new presents this Sunday when Peel makes its belated finals debut since entering the WAFL in 1997.

The challenge against West Perth at HBF Arena with the majority of their Fremantle-listed players required by the Dockers on Saturday against Port Adelaide is a big one, but Jones is also glad that no matter the result in Joondalup that the Thunder are guaranteed to still be alive the next week.

"I think you'd give all those individual awards away just to play finals football. It's what everyone plays for. I'm just really excited now and can't wait for next week to get into it. We go in with a heap of confidence, we are playing really good footy and we should do well," Jones said.

"I think myself and all the boys are just really excited now that we've got the home and away season out of the way. We've been playing really good footy so we are going into the finals with confidence definitely.

"It does give us that little bit of confidence having the double chance. We obviously want to take care of West Perth first and then we'll reassess if things don’t go to plan there, but it is good having that double chance either way to have that week in hand or to get a step closer to a grand final."

Peel has twice this year gone on the only four-game winning runs in the club's history and now enters the finals having won six of its last seven games to be in strong form heading into the clash with West Perth in Joondalup no matter what the Thunder's final 22 looks like on Sunday.

"Over the last eight to 10 weeks we've been building a heap of confidence. We are well structured and playing to our game plan really well, and we are just really confident at the moment and looking forward to taking on West Perth in the first final," he said.

"The last couple of times we've played there we have lost by under five points so we just have to go there with the right attitude, and stick to our structures. They can get their tail up at home with their crowd and everything but if we play to our game plan and pressure them all the time, we'll be in with a show."

While Jones continues to lead Peel's midfield and the Fremantle-listed players have had a significant impact on the Thunder making finals for the first time, perhaps the biggest improvement in 2015 has come with the recruitment of Leroy Jetta and Gerald Ugle.

The former AFL players have provided peel with two dynamic forwards combining for 75 goals but also with plenty of professionalism and leadership off the field, and Jones has been delighted to be able to call the pair teammates in 2015.

"They are just both really dangerous up forward. They are fast and clever and dangerous, and they always finish well so we know if we do the work up the ground and put enough pressure on the opposition, and get the footy into them one-on-one they rarely get beaten," he said.

"Both of them just set a good example for everyone in their recovery and in the way they go about their training, and the way they play. They lead by example all the time and our young guys are now really starting to follow them."

Jones has had every bit as good a season in 2015 as at any other point in his career averaging almost 24 possessions a game, but he believes Peel's improvement through the middle has come through the development of the likes of Connor Blakely, Jacob Ballard, Ed Langdon, Lachie Weller and Brady Grey.

"We work well together as a side at the moment and in that midfield especially. Connor Blakely in his first year has been a real standout for us and Jacob Ballard's gone to another level, and we are all getting to know each other and the way we play, and the way we set up and it's working well," he said.

"It's been going well. It makes it a lot easier for me when all our midfielders are chiming in. Jacob Ballard has been playing good footy and so has Connor Blakely been fantastic for us all year. We share the load which makes it a lot easier for me, but I'm also pretty happy with the way I'm going at the moment."