[1][2] His first season was restricted to bench appearances as the club finished fourth, but he secured his first starts with the senior squad along with his debut goal the following year.
Curcija ultimately returned to South Melbourne for what was the final NSL season in 2003–04, picking up where he left off in domestic football, scoring 13 goals in 25 appearances.
Having established himself as a first team regular for South Melbourne in the National Soccer League, Curcija was selected by Les Scheinflug in the Oceania Qualifying tournament for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.
The finals were staged in Malaysia, and featured several players who would go on to become senior Socceroos, including Brett Emerton, Lucas Neill, Vince Grella and Mark Bresciano.
Raul Blanco played him in a striking role alongside Mark Viduka in all of Australia's matches against Italy, Nigeria and Honduras, but he did not score as the Olyroos failed to progress beyond the group phase.