AFL 2024: Carlton defenders thrilled with Charlie Curnow move
He may have “lost his good looks” on Thursday night, but a Charlie Curnow positional switch is becoming one of Carlton’s biggest assets.
Carlton defender Jordan Boyd says the Blues’ backline walks taller when Charlie Curnow is behind the ball, as his move helped them cling on for a thrilling win over Richmond.
Curnow took a towering intercept mark and made two crucial spoils in the last three minutes of the Blues’ five-point win on Thursday night, repeating his defensive heroics from the dying moments of the round 23 win over Gold Coast last season.
His efforts helped the Blues secure a sixth win from their last eight games by a total margin of only 22 points, as coach Michael Voss said he was pleased to see his side finding different ways to scrap to victory in the closing stages.
“I think Charlie’s lost his good looks for a couple of days – he’s got a few scratches on the face, but he’s always a presence for us,” Voss said after the match as he played down Curnow’s wound from an accidental Dylan Grimes boot to the face in the first term.
His young teammate Boyd said the Blues’ defenders always felt a lift when they saw Curnow join them behind the ball, with the move made with five minutes to play against the Tigers.
“We love when Charlie goes back there. It’s always good having him in defence,” Boyd said.
“He takes big marks, covers a lot of ground to contests and spoils – that’s the stuff we love to see.
“I love seeing that more than his goals to be honest, him helping us out has been great.”
Boyd was also an important final-quarter presence in defence with five disposals and three marks, including a strong intercept mark inside 50 from which he narrowly missed what would’ve been his first goal.
The 2021 mid-season draft pick barked instructions to set up Carlton’s defence throughout the match, saying the Blues had worked hard to fill the organisational void in Jacob Weitering’s absence.
“We’re a really tightknit group, if one of us is struggling, we’re always getting around each other,” Boyd said.
“It gives me the confidence to help others and leaders back there like (Nic Newman), and (Lewis Young) has really taken that role with Weiters out and is really letting his voice come out.”
Boyd said he was still “pinching himself” playing in front of bumper MCG crowds after rapidly rising from club football through the VFL to the elite level in a whirlwind 2021.
The 25-year-old has become a first-choice defender in only 18 games after repeat foot fractures interrupted his 2022 and the first half of 2023.
“Not a lot of people get to do it – a lot of the time I’m just pinching myself – there’s so many people there,” he said.
“Six years ago, I was just working in a factory, and now I get to play in front of 83,000 people, it’s pretty insane … I’m really embracing it.”
Boyd was unbothered when an AFL image of his painted nails in last year’s finals series drew antiquated personal attacks from the worst of social media users and said he would continue to stick with the routine that was started with some handiwork from his partner, Grace, in his first season.
“It started three years ago I reckon – no one really caught on until last year, that Brisbane game,” he said.
“My girlfriend painted them ages ago and I’ve just run with it since, just as something a bit different.
“That’s me, I’m a bit quirky, a bit weird, but it mainly came from Grace and I’ve just stuck with it.”
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