Story and image courtesy of the Townsville Bulletin
MICHAEL THOMPSON | April 15th, 2013
CURRA Swans achieved their first victory over the Thuringowa Bulldogs in two years after beating the RMS Townsville AFL premiership heavyweights by 19 points.
Curra hosted the Bulldogs at Murray's Muldoon Oval on Saturday and eventually recorded a 13.13 (91) to 10.12 (72) win, which broke a drought running back to season 2011.
Curra captain-coach Adam McDonald - who played in Curra's last victory over Thuringowa - said the result was among the biggest in recent club history.
"It's really satisfying and a great way to start the year but it didn't come easy," he said.
"Both teams were a little understrength so that's why we can't really get ahead of ourselves, but all 22 blokes dug in and that was the most pleasing part about the result.
"They (Thuringowa) kept coming at us all game when they could've just folded, so it was a win we had to earn."
Curra kicked five goals to Thuringowa's two in the first quarter and never relinquished its lead, with Jake Sweetman top-scoring for Curra with three majors.
Bulldogs playing coach Paul Sanson slotted three goals, but the effort was not enough to prevent his outfit from losing its second straight game.
"Curra were the better team on the day and they deserved it," Sanson said.
"Our intent and hunger isn't there at the moment and it's up to the coaching staff and me to find out why.
"At the moment we're not doing the basic stuff right and that's something we'll have to work on but it's going to take a bit of time to fix these things."
Thuringowa went through last season undefeated before losing the grand final to Hermit Park Tigers, meaning they have recorded more losses from this season's opening two rounds than their entire 2012 campaign.
McDonald said the Swans would build from their momentous win.
"It's important we don't rest on our laurels and think that we're cruising, because there's still plenty of room for improvement," he said.
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2013/04/15/379393_sport.html
Last Modified on 15/04/2013 10:01