| Charlie Curnow | |
| Fullname: | Charles Curnow |
| Birth Date: | 3 February 1997 |
| Originalteam: | Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup)/Geelong College (APS) |
| Draftpick: | No. 12, 2015 national draft |
| Debutdate: | Round 2, 2016 |
| Debutstadium: | Etihad Stadium |
| Height: | 194cm |
| Weight: | 94kg |
| Position: | Key Forward |
| Guernsey: | 30 |
| Years1: | 2016– |
| Games Goals1: | 131 (281) |
| Statsend: | 2024 |
| Careerhighlights: |
nominee
2023
|
Charles Curnow (born 3 February 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A key position forward, Curnow is a two-time winner of Coleman Medal as leading goalkicker in the AFL home-and-away season.
Curnow played his state level under-18s football for the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup. He became recognised as a strong key forward with elite endurance. He was considered one of the top draft prospects on potential, but with a few risks; namely that his junior form had shown flashes of brilliance rather than consistent brilliance;[1] that he had suffered a knee injury which saw him miss a large part of his final year of under-18s football;[2] and that he had been arrested for refusing a breath test in the week prior to the draft.[3] Carlton selected Curnow with its third pick, number twelve overall, in the 2015 AFL draft.[4] Charlie's older brother, Ed Curnow, had already been playing senior football at Carlton for five years at the time.
Curnow made his AFL debut in round 2 of the 2016 season against at Docklands Stadium. He recorded eleven disposals, four marks, and kicked his first goal in the fourth quarter.[5] After an eight-point loss to in round 16, 2017 – in which he recorded 19 disposals at 79% efficiency, ten marks, four tackles and two goals – he was the round nominee for the AFL Rising Star award.[6] He placed fourth overall in the 2017 AFL Rising Star award, with a total of 27 votes.
In June 2018, Curnow signed a four-year contract extension with Carlton, committing his future to the club until 2023.[7] He had a breakout season, finishing the 2018 season with an equal-third finish in the John Nicholls Medal, and was the club's leading goalkicker with 34 goals.[8]
In round 13, 2019, Curnow kicked seven goals in round 13 against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, at that point the highest in his career.[9] However, he suffered a medial ligament injury in his right knee in the following match – a recurrence of injuries he had suffered on that knee as a junior player – and a slew of subsequent injuries to that knee, including a dislocation and a fractured kneecap in the 2020 preseason, and another recurrence in the 2021 preseason, has meant that Curnow did not play another senior game until Round 20, 2021.[10]
Curnow played every game of the 2022 AFL season and won the 2022 Coleman Medal kicking 64 goals.[11] Teammate Harry McKay had won the medal in 2021, the pair became the first different players from the same team to win consecutive VFL/AFL leading goalkicker awards since 1900–1901.[12] At the end of the season, he signed a 6-year contract to remain at Carlton until 2029.[13]
Curnow kicked a career-high nine goals in round 7, 2023, against ;[14] then when Carlton played West Coast again in round 19, Curnow kicked a career best 10 goals, the first Carlton player to achieve this since Stephen Kernahan in 1995. Curnow won his second consecutive Coleman Medal, finishing the home-and-away season with 78 goals.
Updated to the end of 2024.[15]
|-| scope="row" text-align:center | 2016| | 30 || 6 || 5 || 2 || 35 || 25 || 60 || 18 || 9 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 5.8 || 4.2 || 10.0 || 3.0 || 1.5 || 0|-| scope="row" text-align:center | 2017| | 30 || 21 || 20 || 12 || 207 || 90 || 297 || 119 || 61 || 1.0 || 0.6 || 9.9 || 4.3 || 14.1 || 5.7 || 2.9 || 0|-| scope="row" text-align:center | 2018| | 30 || 20 || 34 || 20 || 206 || 71 || 277 || 123 || 42 || 1.7 || 1.0 || 10.3 || 3.6 || 13.9 || 6.2 || 2.1 || 3|-| scope="row" text-align:center | 2019| | 30 || 11 || 18 || 8 || 115 || 20 || 135 || 49 || 17 || 1.6 || 0.7 || 10.5 || 1.8 || 12.2 || 4.5 || 1.6 || 3|-| scope="row" text-align:center | 2020| | 30 || 0 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –|-| scope="row" text-align:center | 2021| | 30 || 4 || 2 || 5 || 35 || 14 || 49 || 16 || 6 || 0.5 || 1.3 || 8.8 || 3.5 || 12.3 || 4.0 || 1.5 || 0|-| scope="row" text-align:center | 2022| | 30 || 22 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | 64 † || bgcolor=CAE1FF | 42† || 231 || 33 || 264 || 126 || 35 || 2.9 || 1.9 || 10.5 || 1.5 || 12.0 || 5.7 || 1.6 || 11|-| scope="row" text-align:center | 2023| | 30 || 26 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | 81 † || bgcolor=CAE1FF | 44† || 280 || 76 || 356 || 180 || 27 || 3.1 || 1.7 || 10.8 || 2.9 || 13.7 || 6.9 || 1.0 || 17|- | scope="row" text-align:center | 2024| | 30 || 21 || 57 || 41 || 214 || 40 || 254 || 125 || 20 || 2.7 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | 2.0 † || 10.2 || 1.9 || 12.1 || 6.0 || 1.0 || 2|- style="background:#EAEAEA; font-weight:bold; width:2em"| scope="row" text-align:center class="sortbottom" colspan=3 | Career| 131| 281| 174| 1323| 369| 1692| 756| 217| 2.1| 1.3| 10.1| 2.8| 12.9| 5.8| 1.7| 36|}
Individual