THE STOCK answer when a player talks about their journey to a key milestone is one heard many times before. 

‘I wouldn’t change a thing’.

Charlie Curnow disagrees. And that probably comes as no surprise.

With a two-year wait between his 58th and 59th games, there were times when the fan favourite thought he may never reach a century. But, today, he runs out onto Optus Stadium as the second Curnow brother to get his name on the locker — the first time that’s happened in Carlton history.

Sitting down with older brother Ed earlier this week, Curnow - who’d much rather do his talking out on the footy field - shared his story and emotions around the impending milestone.

“Everybody says ‘I wouldn’t change it’, but I definitely would. I’d rather not get injured! It’s been a journey,” Curnow said.

“When you first come in, you’re thinking you’re going to make it easy as. Then you realise how hard playing AFL is. With setbacks, there were a few times I thought I wasn’t going to make 100 games with injuries.

“Eight years. It’s been a ride.”

He admits there was trepidation. Fear, even. He admitted that launching into packs was “the hardest part”.

Difficult when the reigning Coleman Medallist thrives more than anyone when he plays with a freedom that’s nearly unmatched across the entire competition.

Looking back on that period, Curnow said there “was a bit of doubt” when he returned in front of an empty stadium in the final month of 2021.

But what there was never any doubt over was what he wanted to do growing up, and he has his big brother to thank. 

“Growing up, I got so much enjoyment out of watching Ed play footy and got so attached to it that I’d go to school and bring Ed’s Adelaide team photo for show and tell,” he said.

“I used to go to Ed’s place and, in the early years, you’d see guys like Eddie Betts, Mitch Robinson, Jarrad Waite and all these guys that get around you. Big Rob Warnock, always on the massage table getting his arse needled.

“I just remember all these funny, weird things where I’d go into the Club and think ‘how good would it be to become an AFL player, and to be an AFL player at the same club as your brother’.”

He still remembers the day vividly back in 2015 where that dream became a reality.

Not now and not then was Curnow too intrigued with reading the papers or consuming football news. In the lead-up to November 2015, the phantom drafts started linking Charlie to the Blues, where he’d unite with brother Ed.

Even when managers Paul Connors and Robbie D’Orazio let him know how the cards would likely fall, Charlie didn’t want to believe.

“Paul and Robbie pulled me over and said ‘this is the way it could go’: they literally picked every pick from one to 12 half an hour before the draft, exactly how it went.

“When they told me, I didn’t believe them. You never think it’s actually going to happen. After a pretty big week, there was massive relief.”

You can tell with both Charlie and Ed that for two people who bring so much joy to those inside IKON Park, there is one element of regret: that they haven’t been able to play even more football together, and share the scenes in the rooms which have been commonplace for the Curnow clan in 2023.

Not to go full Dominic Toretto, it’s clear what Charlie Curnow’s biggest driver is.

Family.

“It’s due to great family. Like Ed and Emily with the kids, Charlotte and Rhys with their kids, George, Eliza, Mum and Dad. I spent countless hours at Mum and Dad’s at that time, sitting around the fire.

“At times, Ed could be really harsh on me, but I needed it. He’s very warming, without being warming! He’ll have conversations with people without me knowing or he’ll make sure I’m heading in the right direction and put me on the straight path.

“They helped me out in that period when things weren’t working well.”