Coach Post Match – Todd Curley Round 18

WHAT South Fremantle coach Todd Curley had to say following the Round 18 WAFL victory over Peel Thunder at Fremantle Community Bank® Oval leading into the end of the home and away season against Claremont and West Perth heading into the finals.

QUESTION: You got off to a terrific start, another good second quarter and even though the second half was a bit of a grind, you would have been happy with that win?
ANSWER: I thought when the game was really on the line early we were really good and played some good footy. We were able to match them in the contested area which is a real strength for them, and then we were able to use the ball pretty well and use the ball effectively. The second half turned into a bit of a scrap really and we still had a number of shots, but just kicked poorly.

Q: The way you used the footy for much of the first half in particular and your forwards came up with confidence to provide targets worked really well?
A: I think it’s important that if you are ahead of the ball you have to realise that the guys up the ground are going to be under pressure when they get the footy. So when they look up, if there’s someone coming and working for them that makes it a lot easier for them. We’ve been working hard all the way through really and there’s still a lot of things we think we can get better at, but when the game was on the line Peel can be a team that when they stay in the contest generally, they seem to find a way to hang around all day. We got that scoreboard gap early and we were lucky because we had a couple of sore boys late, but that was OK.

Q: Without your biggest ball winner of the season, Jacob Dragovich, you needed other midfielders to step up and Schloithe and Verrier led the way but got plenty of support?
A: Yeah definitely. Dragger has been really important for us but he was sick during the week and we didn’t really want to take the risk with him now that he’s starting to get better. We thought it would be best to let him sit. It gave Matthew Ward an opportunity to come in and I thought he acquitted himself really well. Then our other mids shared the role. Obviously Schloithey was very good and so was Stevey Verrier, and Mainy went through there. We think we have a bit of depth in that area.

Q: You have a whole group of players who have stepped up this year and Zac Dent is one of the standouts?
A: There was no doubt we had to find a few with a lot of the experience going out last year but sometimes that opportunity is the best thing for you. Dent, Pearson, Russell, Florenca, Cabassi, Miguel, Datson and Noah, they’ve been guys to either consolidate what they did last year or have a real impact for the first time. That’s pleasing and hopefully we can continue with that.

Q: A running trend with guys getting hurt during the game, how are Caleb Datson and Steve Verrier?
A: The medical staff are pretty confident with Caleb that it’s not ACL or anything, it was just something that locked with his knee and we’ll wait and see to how he is. Steve will be fine, no problem. He has had a great year for us and touchwood he’s had a little bit of luck with injury after a couple of tough seasons. He has been able to string some games together and he’s an important player for us.

Q: Next two games against Claremont and West Perth to close the season who are the teams just below you on the ladder. How big are these next two weeks heading into the finals?
A: It’s just two more opportunities really to keep working on our game and getting better. We are just really focused on our own group more than anything else, and if we keep winning ladder positions will take care of themselves. With the way the ladder is, it’s fairly likely we’ll either end up second or third anyway so whether we play at home or away, we don’t care too much to be honest. We think we are just as hard a team to beat as we are at home, we’ve had a pretty good record as an away team. Whether it’s an away or home, we don’t care. We just want to keep getting better and that’s something that we’ve worked hard on and yes we have some young boys, but that’s a great opportunity for them.

Q: Given you’ll play either Claremont or West Perth in that qualifying final, does that have any impact now when you play them over these next two weeks?
A: Not really. It’s funny with Claremont we didn’t play them that long ago and now we roll out again but West Perth we haven’t played since Round 6 so it was a long time ago. They are both obviously good teams and teams in form. West Perth lost the first four games of the year and since then they’ve been going super consistently. They will both be tough games but they are opportunities for us to learn about our boys, and obviously about the opposition as well. It’s just exciting at this time of the year.

Q: How proud are you for the team to have qualified for a finals appearance for a fourth consecutive season?
A: It’s a good effort for the fact of the amount of transition we’ve had. It’s almost a new group this year to be honest because unfortunately the group that played in the three proceeding ones, a lot of those guys are gone. This is an entirely new group and we almost feel like it’s a complete change and a new start. They’ve done well to this point to qualify and obviously we’ll play finals. How far you go depends on just having to be the best team for a month once you are there.