Charlie Curnow has been arguably the best true centre half forward in the game for a while now, with most others on top of the league goalkicking starting at full forward, and Jeremy Cameron playing more of a running role up the field than the traditional stay-at-home target. Every good CHF needs a decent player in the goalsquare to provide structure behind him, but for Carlton this year he hasn't had Harry McKay as much as he would have liked, and his role has grown deeper as a result. His best work is hitting the logos and streaming back, and the Blues need him to rediscover it.
Charlie Curnow has been arguably the best true centre half forward in the game for a while now, with most others on top of the league goalkicking starting at full forward, and Jeremy Cameron playing more of a running role up the field than the traditional stay-at-home target. Every good CHF needs a decent player in the goalsquare to provide structure behind him, but for Carlton this year he hasn't had Harry McKay as much as he would have liked, and his role has grown deeper as a result. His best work is hitting the logos and streaming back, and the Blues need him to rediscover it.
Charlie Curnow only needs a couple of goals to win the Coleman Medal outright once again playing CHF, but he will come up against Sam Taylor who is probably headed for All-Australian honours at CHB. Charlie's personal output has been far more impressive with Harry McKay out of the side, and with McKay slowly working his way back to full match fitness, it makes for a fraught dynamic going into a finals campaign possibly against Taylor twice in a row. Does Curnow need all the oxygen to himself, or can he play a role with his full forward to maximise forward efficiency?
Charlie Curnow has returned from long-term injury issues in 2022 to give Carlton a much more productive forward line spine, playing centre half forward in front of Harry McKay with the likes of Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni on the flanks providing lesser options. Like Charlie Dixon at Port Adelaide, it can be argued that Carlton's fortunes rise and fall on his personal fitness, as he straightens the team up considerably by offering targets across half forward and hitting up the logos. He was well-underpriced in fantasy competitions to start the year and is proving a nice stepping stone POD.
What now, Curnow?
It's been a horrific off season for Charlie Curnow. First, his season was cut short after suffering medial ligament damage against the Dockers in round 15. He dislocated his knee cap while shooting hoops which required surgery, then fractured his patella after slipping on tiles in November. Before all of this chaos, Charlie was actually hitting his straps; a four-game rolling average of 91 showed the true quality he can produce, highlighted by a seven-goal, seven-mark fantasy score of 122 against the Dogs. Curnow can be one of the best in the competition if he reaches his true potential. At full force and with a functional forward line around him, he's easily worth an mid-round pick. With a severely depleted preseason and a cloud looming over his fitness, it would be unwise to take him as anything other than a late-round gamble. However, as soon as we see signs that he's back to his A-game, if unselected, he could be one of the superior free agent pool pickups.
Charlie needs to surf
If you look at Charlie Curnow's fantasy average from years two and three, there isn't much difference. Dig down and you will see that last season he went at a rate of 85 in games where Carlton kept the margin within six goals, but dropped over thirty points when they got blown out. This is his true form when the team hasn't fallen apart, as he works hard up the ground for plus-sixes when not trying to provide a target inside 50. The draft league question for Curnow is how many of those floggings the team will get this season, as they tend to happen late in the August fantasy finals window when kids get tired. It's not a matter of clearance totals so don't look to the midfield for the crucial marker, it's an all-of-team structure thing. His natural progression in year four will be limited by how poorly the club fares, which means a late pick and a low end starting spot.
Charlie Curnow is most definitely the first name on the teamsheet at Carlton these days, and the pivot around which the rest of the list will be built in coming years as Carlton attempts to lift itself out of the doldrums. Whether that status will result in him becoming a reliable fantasy conveyance is less predetermined, as the role of CHF can sometimes have too much pressure on it these days.
Curnow, he's got it
If the Blues build something by blowing up their list and starting again under Brendon Bolton, Charlie Curnow will be the foundation stone. He came of age as a CHF in the second half of 2017, kicking at least one goal in the last eleven straight - albeit no more than two. His game is the classic lead, mark and kick template from days of yore, with solid contested marking skills. Curnow has been compared often to Anthony Koutoufides though, lacking the legendary Kouta motor, his play is more like Lance Whitnall. Assuming his skinfolds stay low, Curnow should be the focal point of the Carlton attack for the best part of the next decade. He should be startable regardless of the team's fortunes, though the best CHBs will still trouble him.
