COACH POST MATCH – TODD CURLEY ROUND 5

SOUTH Fremantle coach Todd Curley providing an update after the Bulldogs defeated Swan Districts in Round 5 of the 2020 Optus WAFL Premiership Season ahead of a bye and then taking on Peel Thunder in Mandurah.

QUESTION: You know Swan Districts would make themselves hard to beat and they were, and it took until the last 10 minutes for you to get on top but you eventually did do enough to win?
ANSWER: They've been pretty good to be honest. They haven’t won any games but they've had patches against really good teams where they move the ball really quick, and challenge you. Again we didn’t start very well and I thought they hunted us, and we made a couple of really bad turnovers early that cost us. But I thought after quarter-time our intensity and willingness to compete around the ball certainly improved, and then from there we probably dominated the inside-50 count and just didn’t get it on the scoreboard. But we got no injuries which was a positive and we now have five wins so you can't complain.

Q: Was it still a frustrating day for you in the box where you were just waiting for things to click and the game to open up for you?
A: The first thing you want to see is that you compete and if you don't compete, you can't win any game. Obviously we did have a couple out but so does every team. Higgo being out did change our dynamic a bit more than others and the conditions were a bit tough, it was blustery and that meant it was hard to move the ball. And they played OK. I mean Gault is a pretty good player and he gave them some really good use, and their mids got too much space early and we were chasing a lot. I thought after quarter-time we got it back to closer on our own terms where at least we were winning 50-50 of the ball. We looked tired early because we were chasing all the time.

Q: When you were still behind halfway through the last quarter, you needed guys to stand up to make a statement and plenty of them put their hands up?
A: Stevie's tackle was pretty good that's for sure but I think the great strength of our team all year really when we've had guys come in and out has been our evenness of performance. I thought that most blokes had an impact at some time during the game, but Stevie probably made mostly forward and went inside late and had a real impact for us. We definitely used the ball a bit better going forward as well, but it was a bit of a weight of numbers thing. For the most part we had most blokes doing their bit.

Q: Another first gamer too and John Levien played his role and Kye Barker already looks like he's going to be a good player for a long time?
A: When you look at us everyone assumes we still have that experienced team, but we've got Hamersley, Blechynden, Johnny Levien, Barker, Russell, Jimmy Miller, Abbott and Benny Rioli is new to footy down here, and a lot of those guys have played under-10 games and most if not all under 20. So you have at least a third of your side that inexperienced and to still be able to find a way to win is impressive. We've had some of the senior boys miss here and there over the first five weeks but have still been able to beat some pretty good teams. We are really happy but we are excited now to refresh with six in-a-row behind us counting the scratch match and some boys have had a big campaign so they are looking forward to freshening up ahead of those last three games.

Q: If five weeks ago you were told you'd be 5-0 at this point you would have taken it, but do you still feel like you have another level to go or are you pretty happy with where you sit?
A: You are always happy and you can't not be when you have won five out of five, but do we think there's growth? Absolutely. Hopefully the young blokes will keep getting better and Caleb Datson is another one to add to that group. We think the more that they play the better they will get and the senior boys who have missed a game or two will continue to get better. The overwhelming thing is that over the longest pre-season in history and some of the challenges of the three or four months leading into the season, clearly they have dug in and done the work whether it was on their own, in small groups or whatever because we seem to be running out the games pretty well.

Q: And you have Higgins, Dent and Dragovich to come back into this team?
A: Absolutely and Luff should be just about available after the break too, and we're not sure if Stevie Edwards will get back this year or not. He's a huge loss for us as well. We'll just keep suiting them up and touchwood we didn’t get any injuries this week in either grade. A couple of boys came up from the colts to play reserves and we got three wins, so can't complain.

Q: Do you treat this bye like you would have a usual break in a usual season or do you do anything different?
A: We'll probably pretty much do the same thing. For us we've played six games in-a-row so we'll look to refresh after a video review on Monday. We'll have a bit of a lighter week and then it will be just a normal week heading into Peel. But this week we'll try and make it a little bit lighter, and give them a bit of a mental break and then get ready to crank up for the week leading into the Peel game.

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