Sydney recruit Charlie Curnow wanted out of the Melbourne "fishbowl", with former Carlton list boss Nick Austin saying the scrutiny and pressure of playing for a Victorian powerhouse was like a "contact sport".
Curnow was traded to the Swans, despite being in contract, for a spate of top-end picks, while Will Hayward made the switch, trading out the red and white for the navy blue.
Austin, speaking to the Herald Sun, shone some light on the reasoning why the two-time Coleman Medallist wanted a fresh start, whilst also touching on the "grievances" he had within Ikon Park.
“There were a number of reasons why he wanted to leave,” Austin said.
“Charlie was getting a bit fed up with that Melbourne lifestyle and the fishbowl that it can be. And it can be a contact sport off the field playing for Carlton as well as a star player because when things aren't going well. The walls seem to be closing in and even getting from his car to the club when you're in a form slump, there are always people there.
“He was struggling with that. And we understood that. He is his own person, he's pretty private, Charlie. So we understood the reasons why a change was appealing but Charlie also had to understand that he wasn't a free agent.
“Internally we knew he had grievances, for lack of a better word. But there was nothing that couldn't be resolved. Was Charlie off the coach? There was nothing we discussed that couldn't be resolved. Just sitting around chatting about the situation at both ends, we knew things could change. At the end of the day we were in a position where if the decision was to happen, it would set the club up for years to come.”
Curnow was at the top of his game in 2022 and 2023 under new coach Michael Voss, claiming the competition's goal-kicking awards, a pair of All-Australian blazers and assisting the club in its return to the finals.
Despite a strong 2024 campaign when the Blues were bowled out of the elimination final, the gun forward began to deal with knee and ankle issues, which plagued his last season in the navy blue.
Curnow put together 18 games albeit hindered by injury, and his performance was greatly impacted, kicking 32 goals.
The blockbuster trade, which went down to the wire in the 2025 off-season, helped set up Carlton for the future, even though they let its great forward depart to a fellow contender.
The move helped secure father-son gun Harry Dean at Pick 3, which has already paid dividends, while Hayward is quickly assimilating into the Blues side, and is contributing more consistently.
They will also hold the Swans' first pick this year (currently Pick 17), which will no doubt be used to help land another father-son prospect in Cody Walker, who is tipped to go early in the draft like Dean.
