![\"Swans](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/a7d4e0be702cb9bf42f7dbf45bfbb58b.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nBRING ON OPENING ROUND<\/p>\n
On the track at the Swans, Curnow has been put through a rigorous training program to get his body back up to speed. <\/p>\n
He already feels his troublesome knee is close to 100 per cent, while Sydney\u2019s early match simulations have shown his chemistry is developing well with his new teammates. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo be out there, healthy, it means so much to me,\u201d Curnow said. \u201cI want to show all the new boys what I\u2019ve got, and I want to be out there enjoying time with them and playing good footy. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can see with the core middle-aged group of like Juz (Justin McInerney), Joel (Amartey), Logan McDonald, Errol (Gulden), (Nick) Blakey, that 24 to 28 age, it\u2019s a cool, tight group. So it\u2019s chiming in on their banter, and I sit at the back like the awkward kid; it\u2019s like going back to school. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe new forward line with Joel and Logan is nice. Someone like Jesse Dattoli, I\u2019m just figuring it all out, which is cool; it\u2019s all new to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to be out there as much as you can. I feel like I\u2019ve given myself that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Curnow\u2019s first press conference as a Swan brought with it memories of Lance Franklin\u2019s arrival in Sydney<\/p>\n
While life at Tamarama has certainly added a layer of peace for Curnow, it doesn\u2019t take much to be reminded of his past life at the Blues. <\/p>\n
\u201cCarlton fans are a different beast, and I love them and have really enjoyed them over the years,\u201d Curnow said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s pretty funny now, it\u2019s changed. I love the competitiveness of fans and players. I\u2019ll get stopped, but it\u2019ll be, \u2018My friend is a Carlton supporter, and I want to send them a photo of you\u2019. It\u2019s just funny, it was such a great part of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly, there will be a lot of expectation placed on Curnow\u2019s shoulders across the next five years. The Swans traded away two club favourites, as well as three high-value draft picks, to get him to the club \u2013 if it was a game of poker, Dean Cox has gone all-in. <\/p>\n
How do the Blues replace this?<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not something Curnow has felt yet. He just wants to play his role, and he\u2019s confident the good times will come. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou definitely feel pressure no matter where you are at any football club,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I feel there isn\u2019t too much pressure because I\u2019m just part of their footy club now, it feels natural. <\/p>\n
I\u2019m not here to change anything. What they do works; it\u2019s proven. We\u2019re looking at the end of the year, and everyone\u2019s got the same goal in mind. The boys are hungry as, I\u2019m just here to compliment what they\u2019ve been doing well.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI got to learn about the history of the Swans and the tough period when South Melbourne moved to Sydney. We had Rick Quade, the first coach at the time, come in. It opened up to me how much they went through to make this club what it is today. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably given me a bit of passion back into the game. I didn\u2019t ever not love it, but it helped me find a way to enjoy it out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the coming weeks, Swans fans will continue to get a glimpse of Curnow through fleeting clips on social media and practice matches. But undoubtedly, all eyes will be on the SCG for the opening match of the AFL season when the Swans take on Carlton on March 5. <\/p>\n
It couldn\u2019t have been scripted better \u2013 \u201cI thought we were going to be playing them four times,\u201d Curnow joked. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But as the door closes on Curnow\u2019s chapter at Carlton, he can\u2019t wait for his future in red and white to begin. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be treated as a grand final, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Curnow said. \u201cIt\u2019s just one game, but I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s going to be a weird feeling. <\/p>\n
I think it\u2019ll be a lot of hate (from Carlton fans). After the game, hopefully (it\u2019s love). It\u2019ll be interesting. But with the boys, it\u2019s going to be funny, and it\u2019s going to be on. I\u2019m sure Walshy is going to be lipping me. Weiters, he\u2019s a gun, he\u2019s going to try to put me in his forklift and not let me move.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe fans will love coming to see that. They\u2019ll probably want to give me a bit of s**t, but hopefully one day, we\u2019ll be back on the same side. But that\u2019s all part of it. I was hoping there was going to be a Melbourne game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think about (the move anymore). When I got up here, it was such a release. I had a crack at Carlton, and I think it\u2019s a good reset for them, and it\u2019s going to be good for me too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BRING ON OPENING ROUND On the track at the Swans, Curnow has been put through a rigorous training…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,689,55,639,232381,44844,74185,27931,146524,21870,1129,232374,232364,232378,232369,27713,3499,12148,15832,7666,51244,232375,232366,2105,232370,2485,25532,29656,232382,39242,36099,31732,24309,29652,232363,232372,223548,232371,647,232380,232367,673,10668,677,39209,232373,29987,155616,232384,60466,232377,701,168496,70784,232368,3247,232383,80079,85,670,7200,161823,232379,232365,232376,660],"class_list":["post-449180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-awkward-kid","tag-board-backing","tag-bold-decision","tag-bondi","tag-brian-cook","tag-callum-mills","tag-charlie-curnow","tag-consistent-game-winner","tag-constant-scrutiny","tag-core-middle-aged-group","tag-crazy-period","tag-dane-rampe","tag-daniel-pockett","tag-dean-cox","tag-draft-picks","tag-final-minutes","tag-first-round-draft-picks","tag-footy-clubs","tag-fun-change","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-glamorous-eastern-suburbs","tag-gold-coast","tag-graham-wright","tag-injury-problems","tag-jonathan-di-maggio","tag-knee-soreness","tag-knee-surgery","tag-lance-franklin","tag-list-management","tag-logan-mcdonald","tag-loved-playing-footy","tag-makeshift-fitness-session","tag-match-simulations","tag-media-crew","tag-melbourne","tag-mental-challenges","tag-mick-agresta","tag-new-south-wales","tag-newcastle","tag-oceania","tag-patrick-dangerfield","tag-personal-things","tag-phil-hillyard","tag-playing-football","tag-post-match-comments","tag-practice-matches","tag-productive-season","tag-queensland","tag-recruiting-manager","tag-right-decision","tag-rigorous-training-program","tag-robert-cianflone","tag-robert-priestley","tag-south-melbourne","tag-sports","tag-sydney","tag-sydney-swans","tag-td_colorschemedark","tag-tough-conversations","tag-toughest-seasons","tag-troublesome-knee","tag-victoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}