Curra hit full strength to win at last

IT’S been 378 long days, but the Curra Swans have finally broken their AFL Townsville drought after claiming a 13.8 ( 86) to 8.15 ( 63) win over the Northern Beaches Suns at Muldoon Oval.

Fielding a full- strength side for the first time this season with no players backing up from reserve grade, the Swans dominated the first half as they claimed a 7.5 ( 47) to 1.9 ( 15) lead.

Curra’s lead pushed out to 41 points at the final change before the Suns finished with a 5.2 to 2.2 final quarter, but the home side had done enough to secure their first win of 2018. “It has been a tough season and they deserved their win. I thought they worked hard enough for it,” Swans coach Peter Goodwin said. “It’s a reward for effort. There’s a core group that have been training all year and not getting any reward. I think it means a lot for them. It’ll give them a bit of belief in themselves as footballers.”

Shane Lindgren kicked four goals for Curra, and James Cameron and Lachlan O’Dwyer three each, but Goodwin felt it took a consistent team effort to beat the Suns.

“It’s really the first time this year we’ve been in that position. We’ve been playing well in patches in games, but we always run out of legs because we don’t have 22 fit guys,” he said.

“You do always have an individual that might stand out a little bit, but football’s a team game and it was a team effort. That’s what won them the game.”

Meanwhile, the Hermit Park Tigers have claimed an important win on the eve of the finals after overcoming arch- rivals Thuringowa 23.8 ( 146) to 12.4 ( 76) at Riverway Stadium.

The Tigers held a narrow lead after a 6.1 ( 37) to 6.3 ( 39) opening quarter, but they took charge after the break to claim a big win as Matthew McGrath led the way with seven goals.