{"id":405960,"date":"2026-04-15T11:41:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T01:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=405960"},"modified":"2026-04-15T11:49:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T01:49:31","slug":"concerns-for-afl-star-charlie-curnow-after-underwhelming-start-at-sydney-swans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=405960","title":{"rendered":"Concerns for AFL star Charlie Curnow after underwhelming start at Sydney Swans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Charlie Curnow\u2019s horrible start to his career at the Sydney Swans<\/a> has been shoved under the microscope, with the key forward looking like a man devoid of confidence, and again going goalless against a top-eight team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curnow was in dreadful form as the Swans took care of Gold Coast at Norwood Oval on Saturday, missing easy goals from close range and failing to have much impact across the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Round 6 on the horizon, AFL expert Kane Cornes has called Curnow\u2019s form a huge problem, and has also taken great issue with the former Carlton superstar describing himself as a \u201crole player\u201d in a recent media interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had enough,\u201d Cornes said on Channel 7\u2019s The Agenda Setters<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hear that Charlie Curnow<\/a> wants to be a role player. You don\u2019t give up three first-round picks, two much-loved players for a role player,\u201d Cornes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not a role player. You are a marquee forward, like the Swans have always gone and got. They didn\u2019t sign up for a role player.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornes then did a statistical breakdown of Curnow\u2019s performances so far this year, and compared them with other forwards across the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curnow, an All-Australian in 2022 and 2023, is averaging 10.2 disposals a game, 4.4 marks, 1.8 goals and six score involvements.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 29-year-old\u2019s numbers are comparable to 22-year-old Fremantle forward Jye Amiss and, as Cornes pointed out, were behind North Melbourne eight-gamer Cooper Trembath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(Trembath) is beating him in marks. He\u2019s beating him in goals (averaging 2.0 to Curnow\u2019s 1.8). Look, the numbers stack up for an eight-gamer who was playing VFL footy last year. (North) got him in a mid-season pick. Cooper Trembath<\/a> is outscoring Charlie Curnow, the marquee man at the Swans,\u201d Cornes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geelong\u2019s Shannon Neale is another young forward who is, currently, outperforming Curnow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese numbers are dire,\u201d Cornes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s early, but he needs to lift. The Swans need him to lift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornes said Port Adelaide gun forward Mitch Georgiades, 24, was \u201csmashing\u201d Curnow while playing in an outfit that is struggling to win games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo this is a big story unfolding this year,\u201d Cornes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t worked yet, and it needs to get going if the Swans are going to win the premiership this year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Curnow was in dreadful form as the Swans took care of Gold Coast at Norwood Oval on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":274543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10578,35],"tags":[12495,20092],"class_list":["post-405960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afl","category-breaking-news","tag-charlie-curnow","tag-cooper-trembath"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t