Why A Healthy Charlie Curnow Is The Key To Carlton’s Renaissance

While it mightn’t be a statement that reinvents the wheel, Carlton’s undefeated start to the season sure places a lot of value in a sentiment shared by many across the league’s fandom.

We’ve known of Curnow’s prodigious talents since he was taken with Pick 12 in the 2015 draft, but it’s a timely reminder when we’re able to catch him playing some excellent footy, having only played 4 games in 2020 and 2021 combined.

In that time, Carlton operated with a one-man forward line. Harry McKay received little-to-no support in 2021 particularly, winning the Coleman Medal with 58 goals, followed by Eddie Betts’ tally of 27. No one else kicked more than 15 goals for the season.

At least when Levi Casboult was a reasonable target, he’d take plenty of contested marks and demand attention, whereas Carlton were McKay or bust in 2021, resulting in a pretty toothless offensive setup when they couldn’t rely on their young star.

With wins over Richmond and the Bulldogs to kick off 2022, the Blues clearly look like a different team.

And while coach Michael Voss and some new assistant coaches have clearly changed things all over the ground, with a stronger defensive setup and new personnel through the middle, it’s clear that Charlie Curnow’s return to fitness is the piece to the puzzle that can elevate the Blues going forward.

As things stand, the Blues are able to use McKay and Curnow as the main targets, with Jack Silvagni and Tom De Koning as floaters inside 50. 

Albeit only 2 games into the season, the Blues have already increased their average tackles inside 50 by nearly 4 per game to rank 3^rd, after finishing second-last in the statistic last season. With the likes of Corey Durdin, Matt Owies, Lachie Fogarty and many resting midfielders pushing forward and being aggressive, Carlton having so many aerial targets in attack simply makes the whole set-up more effective.

Punters- At TopSport, the Blues are paying $3.75 to finish in the top four for the first time in 22 years. 

Crucially though, Curnow is the fulcrum to the offensive success of the club.

Even with so much time out of the game and without a strong fitness base for the last four games of 2021, the opposition felt it completely necessary to put plenty of attention into Curnow.

Not since 2018 have we seen this version of the 25-year-old and the attention he is currently demanding is a gamechanger.

We can look at the Round 1 victory over Richmond, when Carlton got on a run to finish the game comfortable winners.

The midfield gained ascendancy but without spacing and structure in front of the ball, the hard work of the players in the centre would result in very little.

Against the Tigers, Curnow finished with just 8 disposals, 2 marks and 2 behinds. In the final quarter, the player himself had just 2 disposals, kicking a solitary point.

Yet his work rate never wavered. Richmond had to pay significant attention to Curnow, where they would rather peel off and use team defence. 

Nathan Broad, Josh Gibcus and Robbie Tarrant took ownership of the role at different times and while the Tigers nullified the impact of Curnow, the space he created by moving an opponent away for the likes of Patrick Cripps and Jack Martin to find pockets inside 50 had a decisive impact on the game.

Against the Bulldogs, it was the very best of Curnow that we saw early in his career. He finished with 16 disposals, 6 inside 50s, 4 marks, 3 tackles and 5 goals, as well as a goal assists.

It was the sort of performance that, combined with McKay’s 4 goals, showed the potential this duo has as the best combination in the entire league, with their different strengths.

Curnow preyed on an undersized and less physical Bulldog defence in the same way he did when he kicked a career-high 7 goals against them in 2019.

And ultimately this, closer to the best form of Curnow, is what can take the Blues to the next level.

At his eye-catching peak, there are few key forwards who are as athletic and can work as hard as the Curnow, who is just as capable of being a traditional, old-school centre half forward, as he is as a contested option in the forward 50.

With McKay there, it’s likely we get to see the former, where he can produce the sort of footy we saw in the second half of 2017 into 2018.

Between Round 13 2017 and Round 6 2018, Curnow didn’t miss a game and averaged 16.7 disposals, 6.7 marks, 3.5 inside 50s, 2.1 contested marks, 1.8 marks inside 50 and kicked 25.17.

He had at least 20 disposals on three occasions and had at least 4 tackles five times.

During this time, Curnow’s partner-in-crime was Casboult, who was a purestay-at-home forward. The results were clearly against the Blues, but the structure was awful.

Punters- At TopSport, Carlton are paying $12 to win their first flag since 1995.

Curnow’s work rate to push up the ground and send the ball inside 50 into dangerous areas was just as important a trait as was his ability to get shots on goal, even if his opportunities were limited by his team’s inabilities.

What we saw against the Bulldogs in Round 2 of this season, was a return to this form, where he looked like a generational forward talent in those 17 games.

This time though, the support crew is such that the 25-year-old’s work can be more handsomely rewarded and far more meaningful than they’ve ever been before.

To start the season, the Blues have taken a step back in marks inside 50 and contested marks, but strides forward in metres gained and goal assists.

Not only does Curnow rack up numbers on his own at his best, but he singlehandedly stretches the defensive scheme of an opponent, to allow his midfielders easier opportunities to set up scores off their own boot.

Many have been impressed by Carlton in the opening fortnight of the season and while it remains to be seen whether they can carry the form forward and be a finals contender, the structure and gameplan is certainly there.

And while we’ve grown accustomed to labelling McKay, Cripps, Sam Walsh and Jacob Weitering as the club’s most important players, no one quite has the aura and influence as the man wearing the number 30.

Charlie Curnow makes Carlton a significantly better team and his fitness will define the club’s future.

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