JUST after half time on Sunday, things looked dangerous for the Blues.
A Dan McStay goal put Brisbane 24 points ahead, after Lachie Neale surged out of the middle and found the key forward 30 out from goal.
It was the star Lion’s 26th disposal of the game with a half of football still to play.
Enter Ed Curnow.
A return to familiar territory saw Curnow flourish, while Neale was shut completely out of the contest.
When tasked with the role on Neale, the mandate was simple: stop him from getting the footy.
“‘Teaguey’ is pretty big on going out there and doing your job — very simple,” Curnow told 7’s Game Day.
“[Neale] was on fire in the first half and it was a good opportunity. I love going on the best players, I see it as a real challenge.”
Curnow has been an effective half-forward so far this season, but when he needed to, he was put right into the coalface.
Collecting 30 disposals for the first time this season, Curnow had 14 disposals in the second half while keeping Neale to just six: a performance which saw him collect five votes from the coaches.
No surprises here. #BoundByBlue
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“I’ve been playing forward this year which has also been a challenge, to adjust in-game and play both roles,” he said.
After featuring more and more in the middle over the last three weeks, it may mean the ‘Blues Brothers’ may be spending less time in tandem up forward.
Ed shed some light on his brother Charlie, who enjoyed one of his most effective performances of the season on the weekend.
“I reckon he’s been a bit frustrated… he had a lot of expectations on himself,” he said.
“I’m sure he’ll look back and learn a lot from this end of the season. He has always trained hard and gone back to hard work to get himself going.
“He brings a heap of energy to the rest of his teammates. He had pretty high expectations going into the season and he still does — we love that about him.”