Curley happy with Bulldogs’ on and off field

NEW South Fremantle coach Todd Curley is settling in well ahead of his first season in charge of the Bulldogs and is happy with what the club has put together both on and off the field in preparation for 2015.

Prior to accepting the role as senior coach at South Fremantle for at least the next two seasons, Curley had never previously been involved in any other WAFL club than West Perth where he was a dual premiership player, captain and had his first taste of being a coach.

After coaching West Perth between 2006-08 following his decorated playing career not only with West Perth in the WAFL but also Collingwood and most notably the Western Bulldogs in the AFL, Curley was an assistant coach at Fremantle between 2009 and the start of 2012 before taking his first break from the game in over 20 years.

Refreshed and ready to get back involved, Curley was appointed as South Fremantle coach for the 2015 and 2016 WAFL seasons at least and now with a couple of months of the pre-season under his belt with the Bulldogs, he is enjoying the experience and the feeling down at Fremantle Oval.

“I’m settling in well. there are a lot of new faces both on-field and off-field to get to know, but they have all been very enthusiastic, welcoming and made me feel right at home already,” Curley said.

“The players’ enthusiasm has been very good which you would expect I suppose with a new coach and a start for them. I’ve got no complaints at this stage.

“I’m very happy with what we’ve put together. It has been an enjoyable time so far since we’ve started training and I’m already starting to feel really comfortable here.

“The boys have been great by training hard and the coaching staff are really keen as well. It’s all very positive but it is only January.”

Curley admits to it being a bit of a strange feeling walking in for the first time to address the playing group having only previously been involved with West Perth before, but the familiar surroundings of Fremantle Oval having worked with the Dockers and an energetic playing group have seen him settle quickly.

South Fremantle has not made a finals appearance since 2011 after three years which followed a similar script with a slow start to the season to see the Bulldogs fall out of the finals race, but then come storming home to build hope for the future.

That was again the case in 2014, but Curley knows it’s now a fresh start for the entire playing and that’s the same for veterans like Craig White, Paul Mugambwa and Ashton Hams, the emerging Haiden Schloithe, Tim Kelly and Nick Borovac, returnees Cory Dell’Olio, Kyle Hams and Adam Carter, and recruit Blayne Wilson.

“It obviously was different walking in here for the first time but now is the opportunity to start building relations hips with all those guys, and to get to know them,” he said.

“Everyone is different and have different reasons and drivers for being here. It’s a matter of getting used to things and now that we are into training that whole process starts. There was a reasonably long lead-in I suppose, but I’m really enjoying it now that we have started training.”

Curley hasn’t looked to make wholesale changes to his coaching staff but there have been some comings and goings with the departure of assistant coach Patrick Bowden and a step down in roles of Hayden North.

Dual colts premiership coach Arthur Maskos is moving up to be an assistant coach to the league side with Jason Ireland taking over the colts team and Tony Walters remaining in charge of the reserves.

Michelle Cowan will still be an assistant to both the reserves and league teams with Brett Duffield taking up an increased role also.

“Obviously Arthur Maskos isn’t doing the colts next year so he will step up into the league side and look after the mids,” Curley said.

“Brett Duffield has been around the club already and we will expand his role but I wasn’t looking to make wholesale changes coming into a club where I don’t know the guys particularly well. It was important to have a little bit of stability around and obviously Arthur has worked really closely with a lot of these young kids before.

“Hayden North will still help out as a runner or something but he is pretty busy with work. We are keen to have all sorts of past players in and around the group whether they can give up one day or every now and then, it’s important to have that touch with your history through past players.”