Peel Thunder have just one more chance to make the WAFL grand final after going down to minor premiers East Fremantle on Saturday.
The Sharks led the entire game, at one point by 28-points early in the fourth quarter, before Peel kicked the final three goals.
East Fremantle held on though beating the Thunder by five-points in the 9.6 (60) to 7.13 (55) semi-final clash at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.
Coach Geoff Valentine said they had plenty of opportunities to win in the last quarter but acknowledged the start also cost them .
"We hit the post twice, literally from the top of the goal square...we had our chances but the game is played over 100 minutes and to East Fremantle's credit they were probably the better team over the course of the game," he said.
"We've got to take responsibility for the start...we can't put ourselves four and five goals down and expect to get over the top of teams."
The Thunder will now take on Subiaco at Lane Group Stadium on Sunday, September 17 in a preliminary final.
Valentine said they are looking forward to it.
"We get the eight day break so a little bit of extra time to freshen up," Valentine said.
"If you said at the start of the year you've got to beat Subiaco at home to get yourself into a grand final, we would've jumped at that opportunity so we're really excited."
The winner will face East Fremantle in the grand final at Optus Stadium on September 24.