Charlie Curnow trade from Carlton Blues to Gold Coast Suns won’t happen, but it’s not that surprising that he asked
Nevertheless, King is happy on the Coast and they are happy with him. He is also close mates with Matt Rowell who just re-signed.
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But the next point is the bigger one. Charlie is contracted to Carlton for four more years, and, like Petracca, whether he wants to leave or not, his club and his contract have the final say.
Carlton has dismissed the idea of him being traded. Curnow’s a Carlton man. Always will be. Can’t be more emphatic than that, Michael Voss said defiantly.
The only wrinkle in that comment is Curnow being an unhappy Carlton man and perhaps not wanting to be a Carlton man any more.
There were rumblings of Curnow’s unhappiness at Carlton for some time this year, prompting Sydney and Geelong to keep an interested, if pessimistic, gauge on the temperature of that unease. The Swans, like the Suns, make for an appealing off-Broadway, surf lifestyle option for him. Geelong has the tempter of being near Curnow’s family and offering a life on the water of Victoria’s Surf Coast where he grew up. However, it must be noted that the water is much more pleasant north of the border, or borders.
Sydney, and Geelong, would throw a lot at Curnow and Carlton to get the deal done, though probably not enough to even make the Blues turn their head. Carlton would require something starting with the initials Errol Gulden from Sydney to consider it. That’s not likely to happen.
Out-of-contract ruckman Tom De Koning is considering a big-money offer from St Kilda, while Charlie Curnow’s future has also become the subject of speculation despite his long-term contract at the Blues.Credit: Getty Images
Every club has players they would entertain trading and a select group who they would never trade. Curnow sits in the latter category in normal circumstances, and amid the turmoil the Blues have faced this year, it is even less likely. He’s the player you build a team around, not one you trade to fund a rebuild. Harry McKay on the other hand …
The Blues can dismiss this Curnow story as a bit of nonsense. They will know it’s not uncommon for players to hate it and want out of their club when things spiral like they have at Carlton this season, but also that this can often be turned around.
They will hold Curnow to his contract, then wrap their arms around him to show him more love, and things will settle down and go away by next season. Curnow had three surgeries in a crappy pre-season and then his – and his club’s – season went downhill quickly. The Blues will reckon on things being better next year.
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But externally the narrative reads differently, and the image being projected is more damaging. It is not about whether Charlie stays or goes – the contract will sort that – but an idea has now been created of Carlton as an unhappy team and place at the moment. That PR jolt is the worst part of this story from Carlton’s perspective.
It suggests an unhappy locker room when the best player wants out at a time Tom De Koning is set to leave and Jack Silvagni – a third-generation Blue carrying one of the heaviest names in the club’s history – has yet to re-sign and is considering going to Collingwood, of all clubs.
Curnow was probably not putting that degree of thought into it. He just liked the idea of getting out, living near the beach and life being simpler. Oh, for the simpler life.
