Coach Update – Todd Curley State Game Break

WHAT South Fremantle coach Todd Curley had to say reflecting on a one-point loss to East Perth on the back of a defeat to Subiaco and looking ahead to the WA Day Foundation Derby with East Fremantle following the state game break.

QUESTION: What is your reaction to that one-point loss to East Perth now that you've had some time to reflect?
ANSWER: I think we were the better team for the majority of the day, and we were a lot better than we were the week before. There was a lot to like and it got to a stage really with 20 minutes to go and they were four goals down they had to sort of take few chances and run the gauntlet a bit. A couple of them came off, and then they were right back in the game. To be honest we didn’t do a lot wrong in those last two stoppage goals they got. They had a bit of luck with one and then the other one’s a 50-50 call on whether it’s a free kick or not and which way it goes, but that’s footy.

Q: Were you happy with the way you competed against them in the contested ball area?
A: Yeah I was. I didn’t think that their big bodies or taller players really had an influence. It wasn’t a great day weather wise, I thought we were pretty good for most of the day but probably had a five-minute period in the middle of that last quarter that wasn’t great. That was enough for them to get up and going and momentum is a funny thing. 

Q: You won't usually be in a winning position without a goal from Saunders, Shaw and Johnson, but Zac Strom looked like a match-winner?
A: He really probably struggled for three or four weeks then went back to the ressies and just focused on attacking the footy and played really well so we got him straight back in. At his best he’s very dangerous because he’s so mobile, quick for a big man, got good hands and he’s a really good kick. It’s probably a tough role playing key forward and pinch hitting in the ruck so hopefully he’s got a bit of a reward so hopefully he takes confidence out of it and continues to build on that for the rest of the year. 

Q: He struggled with his kicking on goal last year, but he looks like he has done a lot of work on it?
A: Everyone puts work into it but it’s probably that in-game pressure that you can’t replicate. He kicked pretty well I think he missed one after a pretty big knock that he got, but he kicked well and looked confident, and like he was going to kick them so it was great.

Q: Thoughts now ahead of the WA Day Foundation Derby?
A: The good thing is we’ve had a couple of weeks to prepare and work on things that we needed to get better and we’ve already started that. Derbies are derbies and East Fremantle have been building and have played some pretty good footy in the last month and been unlucky. They were really good here against us three weeks ago, their pressure was great so we will have to be at our best.

Q: In a competition so even you know that a team is only going to stay winless for so long?
A: We can’t have an impact of how or what they will bring to the table. We can only concentrate on us. We’ve obviously lost a couple and want to bounce back. 

Q: You haven’t lost at East Fremantle Oval coaching South Fremantle, it's a ground the team seems to play well at?
A: I think it’s a big ground and we enjoy playing there. We’ve been pretty good away the last couple of years most of our away games we’ve been really competitive and if we haven’t won them we’ve been pretty close. So hopefully we continue that trend.