Sydney’s new director of coaching performance Simon Goodwin has given the rest of the league an ominous warning, declaring star recruit Charlie Curnow “super fit”.
The Swans gave up three first round picks and two quality players in Will Hayward and Ollie Florent to pry the dual Coleman Medallist out of Carlton during the trade period.
And 2025 was a tough year for Curnow. He underwent four different surgeries, and rarely played his best footy, before pushing for a trade out of the club.
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Logan McDonald (L) and Charlie Curnow (R)Â Sydney Swans Instagram
He hoped to get to Geelong, but Sydney came knocking with the best offer for the Blues, and Curnow was happy to make the move.
There’s no doubt that at his best, he’s as dangerous as any player in the competition. He won the Coleman Medal in 2022 and 2023, and led for most of 2024 before injuries mounted again.
Those injuries have always been the concern for Curnow, who missed effectively three consecutive seasons with knee injuries across 2019, 2020 and 2021, had a significant ankle injury in 2024, and was derailed by the knee again in 2025.
Goodwin however has been incredibly impressed with what he’s seen from the 28-year-old at Swans training this summer.
“We’re learning a lot about Charlie. He’s going super well,” Goodwin told 3AW’s Wide World of Sports Radio.
“He’s super fit. He’s done all the training. That was the first thing, making sure he was durable.
Charlie Curnow in a Swans polo. AFL Photos via Getty Images
“He has obviously missed a bit of footy over the last couple of seasons, but he hasn’t missed a beat at training. He looks super fit.
“We’re certainty working out where to play him, but he’s having a huge impact, certainly deep inside 50.
“He’s going to have a big part to play this year when he’s in there.”
Goodwin was sacked as Melbourne coach before the end of the 2025 season, less than four years after delivering the club a drought-breaking premiership.
The 49-year-old says the time away from the grind has allowed him to reflect on all he accomplished at the Dees, which has re-lit his spark for the game.
“I think any time you’re a senior coach at a club for 10 years and being able to take a team that was certainly down the bottom of the ladder and taking them to playing consistent finals for three or four years and ultimately winning a flag, being in the top four, it’s something I reflect on with great pride and joy,” Goodwin said.
“It was a terrific group of people at the football club and a terrific group of players that were very driven to take the club forward and do something that no one else had done for a long period of time.
“One of the great things that I’ve had the chance to do is just take some time off for four or five months, get a chance to reflect and really understand why I love the game and what it means to me.
“You know, people say, ‘well, did you want a year off or did you want to get back involved in the game?’ And it’s pretty simple for me after a few months. I just love it.
“I want to get back into it and stay involved in footy.”
Simon Goodwin at Sydney Swans training. Â Sydney Swans Instagram
At the same time, when asked by Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel if he was burnt out by the end of 2025 at the Demons, Goodwin said “absolutely”.
“I think when you’re in the senior (coaching) job for a long time, it is a big toll on people’s lives,” he admitted.
“And personally, it wears you down over a period of time.
“So to take some time off and get away and refresh … I go to work at the moment, I’ve never been more enthused in what I’m doing and am back loving the game.
“So I think it has come at a good time. I’m still fairly young as a coach at 49. I want to stay in the game for as long as I can.”
Sydney will open its 2026 season against Carlton at the SCG in Opening Round, in what looms as a fiery encounter given Curnow, Will Hayward and Ollie Florent will all be debuting against their old sides.