Coach Post Match – Todd Curley Round 15

WHAT South Fremantle coach Todd Curley had to say following the Round 15 loss to Subiaco at Leederville Oval and looking ahead to this Saturday against Peel Thunder in Mandurah.

QUESTION: What are your first reflections after that performance Todd?
ANSWER: Clearly we were beaten by a much better team. They worked much harder than us for longer than us. I think if you look at the back 15 minutes of each quarter, it was nine goals to nothing and clearly we have to get better.

Q: What do you put that down to, because for large periods you were able to be competitive but that last quarter and the end parts of each quarter really were costly?
A: Clearly they are willing to work harder and for longer than some of ours. We competed and I thought our first three quartres saw us do some good stuff. If we took a couple of half chances here and there and maybe we could have been back within a couple of goals at three quarter-time. But it's a carbon copy of what's happened in the past against them. They kicked three goals really early in the last and the game was shot. We have got eight weeks to possibly earn the right to have another go at them but if we continue in the manner that we are, we are probably going to come up short.

Q: You probably made mistakes and turned the ball over in ways and positions you don't against other sides. Is that because of their pressure or intimidation or intensity, or what do you put that down to?
A: I'm not sure really. You have to go back to the individuals concerned but we were pretty good in patches and then when it came time to really have to grind hard, we couldn’t go with them.

Q: Is it something where what you've been doing well stands up well against the other seven teams in the competition, but you might need to do something different against Subiaco?
A: We didn’t play the way we want to play though. In patches we did and in patches we didn’t. But in the end, they had 22 guys that contributed and we had too many passengers and relied on too few.

Q: Do you feel like if you put in the work over the next two months that if you play them again, you'd be able to turn around the things that proved costly this time?
A: It's irrelevant really because there are no guarantees we play them again. If we get the opportunity we'll worry about it down the track, but at the moment we're not scheduled to play them again and it's something we're thinking about right now.

Q: Are you confident that this could be something the group learns a lot from and will bounce back hard from next week?
A: Hopefully. We'll get the vision and have a look at it, and go through it but it's becoming a common threat against them. Sooner or later, it comes back to the individual and the group about what you are prepared to do to get a different result.

Q: A big occasion for Josh Collard, how happy were you to be able to give him his league debut after the long apprenticeship he's served?
A: It was really good for Josh and for his family. He obviously has a proud family history at the club. He has been on a pretty slow build really. In the first year he played most games even though he was still eligible to play colts and then he stood up more last year. This year he has been in and around the mix all year and played a pre-season game. He was pretty close to playing six or eight weeks ago when he hurt himself at training. He has bounced back well, come back in and done the work. And he played OK. It was a good day for him even though the result was one he won't remember.

Q: You'd be happy with the amount of young players you've been able to blood this season, with the likes of Strom, Pearson and Donaldson having now become important parts of the side?
A: To be honest, I don’t think it was our kids that struggled today. I thought we got what we expected out of most of our kids and I'm sure it was a good learning experience for them, and a good challenge for our senior guys who realistically have probably been through it a few times. They are the ones who have to facilitate and drive that little bit of change that they need that would make the difference.

Q: You would never make excuses but what sort of difference could have Cory Dell'Olio and Ashton Hams made?
A: Not really because they weren’t available. They are both clever and important players, but the 22 we had out there was the same number as the opposition and you can't worry about who's not available. Cory was pretty close to playing this week but I don’t think we'll take the risk with Hamsy and he'll probably play after the bye.

Q: Hopefully we don’t jinx another milestone player, but what are your thoughts on Shaun Bewick being set to play 100 games at South Fremantle?
A: He was playing colts when I was coaching up at West Perth and he's been at South since I've been here. He's a great clubman, works hard and does everything right. He probably wasn’t at his best today but he had plenty of friends. He has been pretty consistent and it will be a great milestone for him to play 100 club games.

Q: What are your thoughts now on playing Peel next Saturday?
A: I haven’t thought about it at all yet. We want the group to respond as soon as possible and the first chance they get on the track will be Monday. We want to see a response straightaway.