IT was a disappointing day for milestone man Ed Curnow when he faced North Melbourne in his 150th game on Sunday.

Curnow spoke candidly about the Blues’ disappointing performance on SEN Breakfast on Monday morning following the defeat.

“We took it for granted yesterday and clearly weren’t fired up,” Curnow said.

“They came out and got the jump start and we kind of froze which was a little bit embarrassing.”

The tagger-turned-forward was quick to take ownership of the performance, putting the heavy defeat down to a lapse in work rate.

“When the contest work and work rate is off, it’s pretty hard to have a say in a game of AFL footy at the moment,” he said. 

The playing group left the ground and immediately entered what Curnow described as a “tough” post-match review meeting.

With few positives to come out of the 58-point defeat, he highlighted the need for accountability in the wake of the performance.

“In the end you can’t just wipe the game, there’s so much value placed on each AFL game so we need to get something out of it,” he said.

“Some have a really good read on the game. It’s harder for others, you watch them and they just sit there in disappointment.”

Sunday’s match marked the return of brother Charlie Curnow to the forward line after he sat out the previous rounds with bone bruising.

The star forward has had an interrupted season to date, yet to have the opportunity to string together some form.

“[Charlie] likes to play on energy, passion, fun and enjoyment and give as much as he can to training and game day,” Ed said of his younger brother. 

“Obviously playing forward is a difficult role, you’ve got these great defenders and you’ve got to work them over.”

The Blues will get their chance at redemption this Saturday when they face old enemy Collingwood at the MCG.

“We love playing against Collingwood, we’ve had some really good contests against them in the past few years,” he said.

“Back against Collingwood after a big loss against North, it’s the challenge we need.”