Coach Post Match – Todd Curley Round 9

WHAT South Fremantle coach Todd Curley had to say following Saturday's 39-point defeat at the hands of Subiaco at Leederville Oval.

The defeat saw South Fremantle's five-game winning run come to an end while the Bulldogs also conceded top spot on the WAFL ladder to the Lions. 

South Fremantle will now take on East Perth this Saturday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval ahead of the WAFL state game against the VFL next Saturday in Melbourne. 

QUESTION: What are your first reactions to that Todd?
ANSWER: Disappointed of course. I think we said last week that you’re never going as well you think you are and never going as bad as you think you are either. They were very good obviously and are a proud, successful club that wanted to make a statement and did, so full credit to them.

Q: They got off to a fast start and it just seemed like you could never quite get close enough to mount a challenge?
A: With their start, they dominated all areas with contested ball and hard ball. It's hard to get back into the game if you can’t win the ball. More often than not they won first use and it went down their end. I don’t think the scoreboard once they get in front in front affects how you play. If you’re consistent you keep driving in on what you want, eventually the scoreboard will take care of itself. We couldn’t get our game going well enough for anywhere near long enough. We were never a chance, never looked likely.

Q: Was it just one of those days where things didn’t go well for you, or did they not allow you to play the way you want?
A: Full credit to the opposition. I thought they came with a real mindset were harder than us, wanted to win the ball first. If you’ve got the ball in your hands you’re a fair chance to be successful. We couldn’t get our hands on the ball, couldn’t get it forward when we did we scored but it was too little from too few. 

Q: Were there parts of your game in particular you learned some lessons about?
A: Maybe, we’ll have to look at the tape. To our guys credit they’ve been very good for a few weeks but clearly they weren’t at their best this week and would have learnt a few lessons. We’re under no illusions we’re still trying to grow and improve. It’s highlighted some areas we got to get better at. I think you learn more out of games where things don’t go to plan and where things don’t work well. It’s a good chance to learn about your group a little bit more. Sometimes I think if you play against teams that maybe aren’t going as well, sometimes talent can cover up a few cracks. I think clearly it came down to they were harder. They were just harder than us. Bullied us around the ball as a result the ball was in their front half more often than not. If you’re beaten to the contest it’s hard to compete in the game. 

Q: Jason Maskos did about as well as anyone could have expected on Liam Ryan. Your tall defenders did pretty well against their big forwards. What did you make of the back-line?
A: In the end it was probably weight of numbers. I thought our tall defenders did a good job, I thought Jase was fantastic, under siege at times but some of his efforts and the courage to come off his opponent and help his teammates at times was really good. It’s hard when the ball’s generally from a stoppage or a clearance or contested situation its coming your way all the time. They never really got going couldn’t get settled and they were too good.

Q: You seem to have come through unscathed, Hams got through the game and Steve Verier through in the reserves too?
A: Health wise we’re pretty good. I don’t think we lost anybody. Ash got through, Steve Verrier got through and our young guys in the reserves were sensational. Down six goals to one at one stage then really got to work. They played really well under siege for a young group and there was some good performances so you put your hand up and you give yourself a chance to play next week. 

Q: East Perth are now finding some form so it's another test this Saturday?
A: Another challenge for us, obviously they’ll be well organised they got a lot of strength around the ball so it will be a real challenge for us.

Q: You responded so well to your first loss of the season. How important is it to do so again?
A: It’s always important to respond to a poor effort. I don’t think form has a lot to do with effort or your ability to compete. That was probably what really let us down especially early we weren’t up for the fight and didn’t compete or bring enough effort. To Subi’s credit they were much better than us.