‘The time had come’: Charlie Curnow explains why he left the Blues

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Charlie Curnow’s decision to leave Carlton was about three months in the making.

There was no lightbulb moment but “a lot of things” that made it clear to him his future lay away from the club he was drafted to as an 18-year-old and where he had spent several years before that watching his older brother Ed play.

Charlie Curnow at his unveiling as a Sydney player.

The dual Coleman medallist on Thursday opened up on his difficult final year at Carlton after his move to Sydney was completed in the final minutes of trade period on Wednesday night.

“I just felt like the time had come,” said Curnow, who in 2022 signed a contract to play with the Blues until the end of 2029. “It was a long contract. In that time, it probably changed a few things and felt like I needed to change, and felt like it was going to be better for me as a person maybe to move on.”

Donning the Swans polo for the first time after 10 seasons in the navy blue, Curnow spoke with warmth about his time at Carlton and his relationship with his now former teammates, and with excitement about his future in Sydney, where he is seen as the final puzzle piece in the club’s push for a flag.

A year ago, the notion of Curnow leaving Carlton seemed fanciful. When the idea was floated of a Blues key forward leaving last year to fit in Christian Petracca, it was Harry McKay’s name that hit the football rumour mill.

The toll of a campaign in which player and club disappointed on the field, combined with four operations in 12 months, played a part in Curnow feeling stale and wanting a fresh start.

Even off a pre-season of just one week of full training with the team, Curnow was on track for a third straight season of 50 goals or more until his form, and that of the Blues, plummeted in June and July.

It was about this time when Curnow was first linked to a move, initially to Gold Coast, then Sydney, and then Geelong – the club he supported as a kid.

The Swans had sensed the glamour forward could be prised out at this point, though Curnow insisted he did not speak to other clubs until after the Blues’ season was over “because it didn’t feel right being at Carlton and going around talking to other clubs at the time”.

After the loss to Hawthorn on July 24 in Sam Docherty’s farewell game, Curnow was emphatic in declaring he would be staying. At the time, Curnow said, he had not made up his mind. Privately, he was telling teammates how he was feeling about his future at Carlton.

Defender Jacob Weitering, part of Carlton’s draft class of 2015, was one of the first Blues he spoke to on Wednesday night.

“Yeah, I was real transparent with them,” Curnow said. “A lot of the boys I’ve been with a long time and [I’ve] got all these great mates there, and you probably hear that a lot, but I had conversations with him [Weitering] for three months about this. This was like it was no shock to any of them.”

Curnow rejected speculation his relationship with Blues coach Michael Voss had become strained this year. Under Voss, Curnow played his best football in 2022-24, coming close to winning three Coleman Medals in a row, after missing much of 2019-21 due to a series of knee injuries.

“Not at all,” Curnow said at his unveiling as a Swan in the club’s South Melbourne office. “In the end, it’s a pretty high-pressure environment.

“I think, [there were] obviously some things that maybe leaked out there that I would say aren’t true. It’s always a tough environment, football, and it’s going to be a lot of challenges that come with that. But for me and him, like, I don’t see our relationship being affected at all by this.

“It’s just hard to have a few good conversations with him at the end of the season... if I want to get traded, you have to do that – you can’t just look and go behind his back and just start putting myself out there.

Having briefly spoken to Voss after the trade was finalised, Curnow said he would contact his now former coach again to thank him.

“I played some great footy under Vossy – we had a great relationship,” Curnow said.

“I owe him a lot, I came out of an injury and was able to play three years and four-in-a-row beneath him and play good footy. That’s going to be some of my best memories when I look back and have finished footy – playing underneath him.”

It will take time for Carlton supporters to get used to seeing Curnow in the red and white. One punter drove past yelling, “Go the Blues” as Curnow was having his photo taken opposite South Melbourne Market.

The early sentiment of Blues supporters is against Curnow, but the player, himself, remembers his time at the club fondly – from seeing former best-and-fairest winner Heath Scotland “roll around in the change rooms” topless, to becoming a fan favourite.

“I love the club, [and] have so many good memories and so many good mates [there],” Curnow said.

“I’ve got a good relationship with all the boys and the coaches – we’ve had a few over the years.

“The Carlton fans have been amazing to me over my time... I’ve been very lucky and grateful for the 10 years I’ve spent there.”

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