“THAT was an interesting one, having someone take hangers on me.”

It was hard to look away from the duel between Carlton’s Charlie Curnow and Gold Coast’s Mac Andrew on Saturday afternoon at Marvel Stadium.

And regrettably from a Carlton standpoint, the back-to-back Coleman Medallist was well and truly being nullified by the Suns defender in the opening two quarters. 

It was a stat line that was largely lopsided: Curnow had five disposals, one mark and two behinds, whereas Andrew had 11 disposals and a game-high seven intercepts to half time.

As Michael Voss said post-match, the Blues weren’t doing Curnow any favours in the early going, but a response was still needed. And as champions do, Curnow provided exactly that.

“I had to change my game and adapt around him, because he was playing at such a high level,” Curnow told ABC post-match.

“The team helped me with that. I was happy to take a few marks up the field to try and pick apart their zone, coming into the forward line with a bit more method. I felt like the boys did really well doing that.”

Curnow’s response was emphatic, with five disposals, two contested marks and two goals in the third term alone. It should’ve come as no surprise that Curnow set the third quarter alight, as it’s been a common trend so far in 2024. Of his 33 goals so far this season, 19 have come in the half hour following the main break.

He ended with yet another haul of four goals from eight scoring shots.

It was never going to be easy, with seven of Curnow’s nine second-half disposals being contested. But it mattered not, with the fan favourite sending the 39,597 in the house - an all-time record for a Suns game in Victoria - into raptures every time he went near the Sherrin.

But the humble Curnow was still keen to heap praise on his direct opponent after the game.

“He’s a pretty funny guy. He’s extremely talented and going to have a really good career ahead of him,” he said.

“It’s nice to come back to Marvel Stadium, have our fans here and feel the energy once again. Gold Coast didn’t make it easy.

“It was a great team effort. I look around and look at a few boys that have changed their roles up . . . there were team roles everywhere, so it’ll be great win to go over with the coaches.”

Curnow’s third quarters

Opening Round: Five disposals, 3.0
Round 1: Two disposals, 1.0
Round 3: Five disposals, 2.0
Round 4: Five disposals, five marks (two contested), 2.1
Round 5: Six disposals, three marks, 1.2
Round 6: Three disposals, 3.0
Round 7: Seven disposals, two contested marks, one goal assist, 2.0
Round 8: Two disposals, one goal assist
Round 9: Six disposals, three marks, 2.0
Round 10: Six disposals, two contested marks, 1.2
Round 11: Five disposals, two contested marks, 2.1