What's behind Charlie Curnow's fall in 2025?
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At this stage of last season, Charlie Curnow was five clear atop the goalkicking list and on track for a third straight All-Australian blazer.
Just 12 months on, the man who became the face of Carlton's rise out of the doldrums to premiership contention remains emblematic of the club, but for the wrong reasons.
Down on form and goals, the pin-up boy of Princes Park has been unable to make a mark on 2025, to the point that he has even been linked to what would be a blockbuster trade out of the navy blue at season's end.
Curnow's campaign, and that of the Blues, plumbed a new low last week when he was held goalless by journeyman defender Toby Pink, and his side embarrassed by the up-and-coming North Melbourne, who recorded just their 19th victory from their past 121 games.
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Melbourne great Garry Lyon accused Curnow of having 'lost his appetite for being a great player', while another respected pundit David King has noted the star forward's tendency to be outmarked by opponents from an unwillingness to 'fight the fight'.
The sliding numbers
At a glance, Curnow's drop-off from his peak in 2022-24 does not appear dramatic, but over the course of the year the difference becomes pronounced.
Averaging 2.9 goals per game in that period, Curnow is now down to 2.1. Through a 23-game home-and-away season, that becomes the difference between a 48-goal year or 67, the latter enough to win the Coleman in any year from 2018 to 2022. His 27 goals places him equal 12th, well behind Jesse Hogan and Jeremy Cameron.
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