Carlton coach Michael Voss has no concerns over star forward Charlie Curnow’s big-game output

For the first time in 66 games Charlie Curnow didn’t kick a goal last weekend, but his coach said any critics were off the mark.

Carlton coach Michael Voss has dismissed criticism of star forward Charlie Curnow, declaring the two-time Coleman medallist’s “body of work” is evidence of his matchwinning capabilities and expects him to “rise” to the challenge of rebounding from his first goalless game in three seasons in Sunday’s must-win clash with Hawthorn.

Curnow managed just two behinds in the nailbiting loss to Collingwood last week, the first time he hadn’t kicked at least one goal in a game since round 1 of the 2022 season, a streak of 66 matches.

The next best active streak in the AFL is 20 games, evidence of Curnow’s sustained ability to hit the scoreboard.

But his effort drew criticism of some below-par efforts in big games, having also struggled in last year’s finals series during which the 27-year-old kicked just three goals across three games.

Charlie Curnow is helped from the MCG after rolling his ankle last weekend. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

He has lost the lead in the race for a third straight Coleman Medal, falling two goals behind GWS star Jesse Hogan despite kicking 10 goals in three games leading in to last week’s loss to the Magpies.

It’s that run of sustained output, and his 56 goals for the season so far, that moved Voss to defend Curnow, who he said would play despite an ankle issue that limited his training this week, declaring his importance to the team couldn’t be understated.

“I don’t know how many games in a row he’s actually kicked goals, but that’s a pretty significant achievement in itself,” Voss said on Friday.

“People tend to dive into what people can’t do and they’re not doing, but what we like to rise to is what they can do and what they can bring.

“I tend to look at a body of work when I look at form. We’re getting real narrow focus if we’re sort of focusing on one or two games.

“And I’m not trying to say this tongue in cheek or be smart, but he’s won a couple of Coleman medals, so (that) sort of shows that he’s been fairly consistent over a long period of time.

Curnow had a rare off day against Collingwood. Picture: Mark Stewart

“So he has an off day, has an off moment. That’s not unusual to anyone, but he’s importance to us is significant. He knows that.”

The Blues have slipped to eighth on the ladder after losing four of the past five games and could find themselves out of the eight before Sunday’s MCG clash should Essendon beat the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night.

Winnable games against West Coast and St Kilda close out the season and while Voss knows his men can leave nothing to chance, he said fighting for finals spots was where the Blues wanted to be.

“I hope we see where we are as privilege, so I don’t see it as pressure. These are the games we want to play in,” he said.

“We’ve been talking about as a football club for a long period of time about having an impact in this competition, and that goal has not changed. Our goal is to have an impact in this competition.

“So every game we play in is extremely important to be able to hope that we can progress in that in that way and give ourselves the best possible chance.”

Originally published as Carlton coach Michael Voss has no concerns over star forward Charlie Curnow’s big-game output