LOOKING at his 2022 season alone, it wasn’t easy to tell that Charlie Curnow spent two whole years on the sidelines.

Returning for the first time in June 2021, Curnow overcame a series of knee injuries to manage four games in his return season, acclimatising his body and mind to the rigours of senior football and understanding what was required prior to the pre-season of 2021/22. 

The rest was history for Curnow, who was one of three Blues to play all 22 games. Ending the season as an All Australian, Curnow took home the Coleman Medal for kicking the most goals in the competition, slotting 64 goals in what can only be described as a statement year for the 25-year-old forward.

It was Curnow's aerial prowess which laid the foundation for his success in front of goal, ranked third for total marks inside 50 and fifth for total contested marks after the home-and-away season. While initially hearts were in mouths whenever he launched for the Sherrin, it was soon met with a roar of delight from the Carlton faithful.

Enjoying a winning season for the first time at IKON Park, Curnow had an electric return to football, using his infectious energy on the field to inspire teammates and spectators alike. 

Speaking of his time plagued with injury, Curnow admitted that things were far from easy, watching his teammates and the football world go on without him. 

“When you’re injured, you doubt yourself a lot and things are a lot harder – you become stuck in your way when you’re out for almost three years,” Curnow said. 

“It’s hard when you see other players developing at other clubs and you’re stuck in mud, so you really have to think about what you can do when you’re injured to better yourself and get back and play games.” 

It would’ve been easy for Curnow to shrink into his shell after his four-game stint in 2021, where he kicked just two goals and averaged four marks a game. Instead, he used it to fuel his pre-season efforts, promising to come back bigger and better in 2022. 

The support of his teammates and the Club through that time - and the entirety of his injury in general - made the process easier to swallow, re-assuring him that he would get back to his old ways in the future.

“I played my first game back last year and the amount of support I got in that game - to go out and do my thing and enjoy myself - was amazing,” he said.  

“I thought I was pretty hopeless in the early days. I thought I was doing nothing: I was training well but I couldn’t put it all together on the field. That’s where my teammates really supported me and showed a lot of confidence in me and telling me that I can have an impact in the game. 

“Things can slip away and you get left out of the program, but the commitment the team made to me and involving me in the program makes it all easier when you come back.”

One thing that can be said about Curnow is that he never gave up and never let his energy and enthusiasm drop around the Club. His enthusiasm and positive reinforcement for his teammates, as well as his boyish charm and true-Curnow fondness for pranks, kept spirits high around IKON Park.

It was a fortnight ago when Curnow repaid the faith that the Club showed him during the hard times, signing an additional six years to his contract to seeing him remain in Navy Blue for a long time.

And there is no place Curnow would rather be. 

"It's always been a dream of mine to play for Carlton, and I've been building something with these boys for too long now to let it go," he said.

"It's been [my teammates] and my family that really got me over the line and always knew I could do it. I'm glad I'm finally showing something."

One of those teammates that was a constant support for Curnow was Harry McKay, a fellow Coleman Medallist who has been a good friend and teammate of Curnow's since they were drafted together in 2015.

The duo managed to achieve a feat for the first time in over a century, with two different forwards from the same club winning the Coleman Medal in successive years. It's easy to forget, after the evidence shown in 2022, that the two hadn't played a whole lot of football together prior to this season.

With McKay's early career injuries plus Curnow's own woes in recent seasons, they had been in the same side just 26 times prior to Round 1, 2022. This year, they were able to show exactly what they could do, sharing a clear on-field connection.

“Playing in the forward line with Harry has been amazing, playing with such a talented forward that’s had such a great couple of years in a row,” he said. 

“I got drafted with [Harry and Jack Silvagni] as well, so it’s special being a group for seven years, building that time together as a forward line: it’s been really special.

“Now that we’re seeing some reward, it’s a much better feeling because we’ve built that together.”

On his own performance this year, Curnow said while it wasn’t necessarily something he thought was beyond him, he was proud he was able to give back to the Club and show the football world what he’s made of. 

Always enjoying his time on the footy field - particularly with his trademark goal celebration - Curnow’s eagerness and love of football shone through, never shirking a contest or missing an opportunity to congratulate a teammate, lapping up all the support from the Carlton crowds.  

“I don’t know if it was beyond my expectations, I always just thought when I was training ‘it’s not my time, it’ll come’”, he said. 

“For me, someone who was out of the game for so long, to feel the support [from the crowd] in a game, it’s an addictive feeling. I love it."