South West have fallen short of another historic three-peat at the 2026 Nutrien Ag Solutions Men’s Country Championships division one, losing the final to Peel by 33 points on Sunday.

A six-goal run during the middle quarters by Peel broke the game open at Fremantle Community Bank Oval. The Cavaliers broke a nine-year title drought in the top division with the 12.7 (79) to 6.10 (46) win.

The result is the reverse of last year’s decider whenSouth West took the honours after taking down Peel by 19 points.

South West co-captains Jesse Crichton and Tom Gorter were solid down back but were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of entries and lack of pressure on the ball up field.

Spearheads Liam Creighton and Zac Trigwell were well held by a steadfast Peel back six while star midfielders Caleb Stephens and Mitch Tenardi were denied any influence.

A running snap from Michael Stevens kicked proceedings off inside the first minute for Peel before David Cowan kicked the South West’s opener from outside 50 with a long range set shot to get his side 10 minutes into the first.

Both sides were very happy to retain possession through the opening quarter trying to pick apart their opposing team defence.

Peel started the second term with two missed easy chances to extend their margin but South West took their opportunity going straight down the other end of the ground as Liam Creighton booted his first goal from the pocket.

Another two chances went begging for Peel until Michael Randall broke their inaccurate streak with a stunning left foot drop punt from deep in the pocket to finally capitalise on his side’s ascendancy in the second term.

Peel again extended their margin to 13 points with a quick end-to-end transition leading to a Tye Salter dribbler from the goal square.

A stunning snap in traffic from Brody Wemm put Peel out to a 20-point lead going into the main break with the South West needing to find another gear after half time.

Peel continued where they left off to start the premiership quarter with an early goal to Brett Hill from a stoppage deep inside 50. He then kicked his second only minutes later to leave the two-time reigning champions 32 points back five minutes into the third.

A 50m penalty from the centre bounce led to a Riley Mitchell goal which pushed the margin to 38 but South West’s Connor Carbone and Ben Ganzer quickly replied with goals.

A brilliant snap from Peel’s Ryan Bennell gave the South West a mighty task in the final quarter, 32 points behind.

Robbie Turnbull got the South West off to the best possible start with a major as the side ramped up the pressure with plenty on the line.

Two opportunities went begging for the South West as shots hit the post twice in the following minutes while a full ground transition from Peel had Stevens walking into an open goal deflating the hopes of a comeback for the side.

A final two goals from Peel to South West’s one in the dying minutes blew the margin out to the final 33 points as the Cavaliers found themselves back atop the country football mountain.