Curley re-signs as coach of Bulldogs for two more yearsFriday, August 12, 2016 - 2:26 AM - by Chris Pike

SOUTH Fremantle is guaranteed of returning to the WAFL finals in 2016 and the man that has got them there, coach Todd Curley has re-signed with the Bulldogs for a further a two years keeping him at the helm until at least the end of 2018.

Curley took over as South Fremantle coach ahead of the 2015 season and now the Bulldogs are guaranteed of a finals position in 2016 currently sitting in second spot with a 12-5 record with three games remaining.

Curley has overseen the development of a young group with no player taking the field in 2016 older than 29 years of age so it is a team built for sustained a success starting with the Bulldogs' return to the finals this year for the first time since 2011.

"We've done a lot of work since I started almost two years ago now. There has been a fair bit of change and the player group is fantastic. I'm really enjoying my time with them and hopefully over the next couple of years we can continue to grow together," Curley said.

"We have said all along since I was appointed a couple of years ago that it will be revisited in the second half of this year, and we've been talking for a while. There hasn’t been any feeling from either party that it needed to be rushed because we are happy with how it's going.

"It was just a matter of making sure both parties were really comfortable with going forward together. For me it was a pretty easy decision to want to continue."

It was a big leap for Curley to originally join South Fremantle having never previously been involved in a WAFL club aside from West Perth where he played in the premierships of 1995 and 2003 while also being captain and then coach between 2006-08.

That was either side of a 118-game AFL career at Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs, which included playing in the AFL preliminary final teams of 1997 and 98, and then Curley was an assistant coach at the Fremantle Dockers after his time in charge of the Falcons.

A couple of years out of the full-time football environment that had been the cornerstone of his life for some 20 years saw the passion burn again for Curley and now he couldn’t be happier with what has transpired at South Fremantle and to continue on for at least another two seasons.

"You probably just realise that you miss it. It had obviously been part of my life for as long as I can remember and even in the couple of years off I helped out a little bit at Hale so it wasn’t a complete break," he said.

"You realise that you are happiest when involved with one of your passions and footy's that for me. I really enjoy working with our really young group and hopefully I've been able to pass on some of the experiences that I've had to help the players we've got long-term and to experience being able to play in a premiership like I was lucky enough to. That's the aim."

Curley's task when appointed South Fremantle coach for 2015 was to get the Bulldogs back into the finals for the first time since 2011. Last year turned out to be a year of learning and development for the players and coach alike, but he's proud of where the group has grown to in 2016.

"The first year is always a bit of a challenge because largely the group is what it is, and it's about me learning about them and them learning about me," he said.

"A lot of people could tell me their opinions on how things were working, but I wanted to come in and make my own mind up so it took that first year to do that.

"There has been a fair bit of change no doubt but the player group and especially the leadership group is really driven and that makes the battle a lot easier because the players are the ones that are desperate to experience finals and some success."

While Curley is happy to now be guaranteed of continuing on as coach at South Fremantle for two more years, his immediate focus is on the next three weeks against Swan Districts, East Perth and Perth leading into a finals campaign.

"The big thing that I've learned in footy in my time is that the regular season is really just about qualifying for finals. Once you get to finals, it's really just whoever is the best team for a month who has the opportunity to win it," Curley said.

"We have qualified, which is great, but once you get there everyone starts from base level again and if you can be the best team for those four weeks that's all you need to do to be right in the mix to win it."