Why the Curnow who may’ve saved Carlton’s AFL season is not Charlie
On the eve of the AFL finals and after 221 games, the majority of which were played during the Carlton Football Club’s bleakest era, Ed Curnow announced his retirement.
The affable journeyman and elder brother of dual Coleman medallist (for most goals kicked in a season) and superstar Charlie, played 17 games this season, but in all likelihood was not going to be selected for the finals, given Carlton had a fully fit squad.
Yet, if it were not for Ed Curnow, Carlton quite possibly would not be playing in its first finals series in a decade and, as of today, be just two wins away from its first flag in 28 years.
Charlie Curnow, left, and his brother Ed at training this week. Getty
Sport loves its folklore, and the gesture by Ed, mid-season, to invite his teammates to his Torquay property for a soul-searching session is, as midfielder Adam Cerra said this week, “growing legs”.
Should Carlton win the flag, “Ed’s campfire” will become ingrained in Carlton’s 150-year-plus storied history.
After 12 rounds, Carlton was 14th on the ladder with just four shaky wins and a draw. Its road to that point was already littered with the bodies of sacked coaches and CEOs.
Coach Michael Voss, in his second year, looked set to join them, amid expectations Carlton would again fail to make the eight teams to play finals.
It was unusually harsh and honest, especially for a bunch of millennials.
— Carlton insider about a fire-side team meeting
The turnaround had its origins in the insipid round 11 loss to Sydney when board member Craig Mathieson tore into club president and ex-PwC partner Luke Sayers in the dressing rooms in front of the players and family and friends.
Mathieson, the son of pokies baron and Carlton benefactor Bruce Mathieson,
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