{"id":519339,"date":"2026-03-05T02:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/519339\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T02:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:21:15","slug":"afl-opening-round-sydney-v-carlton-live-updates-team-news-and-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/519339\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL Opening Round Sydney v Carlton: Live updates, team news and results"},"content":{"rendered":"

He\u2019s the name on everyone\u2019s lips ahead of Thursday night\u2019s first match of the AFL season between Sydney and Carlton. <\/p>\n

The SCG will be rocking with Swans fans ready to cheer on their new forward star. And a proud travelling contingent of Blues supporters will ensure Curnow feels their contempt every time he gets close to the ball. <\/p>\n

The man himself will be doing everything he can to drown out the noise<\/a>, because don\u2019t get it wrong. Curnow will be nervous. <\/p>\n

He won\u2019t know what to expect from his former Carlton teammates. <\/p>\n

Marc Murphy suggested there will be spot fires throughout the game, but the silent treatment could have an even greater impact \u2013 what if they don\u2019t say anything?<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be desperately wanting an early goal to calm the tension. The ideal scenario? Wheeling around on his right to slot one from 60 metres. That would be some way to also celebrate the milestone of his 150th AFL game.<\/p>\n

But even though the Swans went all in to get Curnow to the club during the trade period, they\u2019ve gone to great lengths to ensure the two-time Coleman Medallist knows he isn\u2019t alone on Thursday<\/p>\n

\u201cExternally, we understand the narrative behind a lot of things,\u201d Dean Cox said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut from his perspective, and also ours, he\u2019s just one of 23 tomorrow night that we want to and expect to play his role for the footy club.\u201d<\/p>\n

JAY CLARK: CURNOW EXIT MAY SAVE BLUES FROM \u2018GARBAGE FOOTBALL\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

MICK MCGUANE: THE TRUTH ABOUT JAGGA AND THE NEW CARLTON<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Horse<\/p>\n

The hype for Curnow\u2019s Swans debut has been building since his blockbuster trade was completed last October. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s been compared to the litany of talented key forwards who have played for Sydney over the years \u2013 Lockett, Hall, and Franklin. <\/p>\n

His new teammate, Isaac Heeney, went as far as to liken Curnow\u2019s presence to that of the Buddy-mania that swept across the club for a decade \u2013 even if Cox thinks Franklin remains \u201cin a league of his own\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings that real presence down forward,\u201d Heeney said. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a Buddy presence \u2013 he\u2019s a real competitor. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really enjoyed the way we interact throughout the club, but also the way we move the ball, and hopefully we can put it on his chest a little bit. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just want him to play games. I want him to enjoy his time here, and if we can allow him to have fun out there and we look after him, then goals will come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curnow has already made the personal adjustment to life in Sydney, living it up in the Eastern Suburbs and searching for the best waves along the coast. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe won\u2019t come down to the bubble down in Maroubra,\u201d Heeney joked. \u201cHe sticks to Tamarama and Bondi and those snobby places.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie Curnow kicks a goal as a Swan<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s also had a massive impact on young players around him. <\/p>\n

The return of Logan McDonald following a year on the sidelines will be a massive boost to the Swans\u2019 forward line, and the 23-year-old credits Curnow\u2019s arrival for helping him get back to his best. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just in awe watching him at training, the way he moves and picking his brains in meetings and trying to learn as much as I can,\u201d McDonald said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we both bring different strengths, and being able to complement each other is something we\u2019re going to try to do \u2026 putting each other in the best positions to be able to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited for what our forward line can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Swans will boast two more new players against Carlton \u2013 with Jai Serong and Malcolm Rosas Jr. also set to make their club debuts \u2013 there will be some familiar faces in navy blue on Thursday. <\/p>\n

Will Hayward and Ollie Florent. The best mates became an integral part of the Curnow narrative when they were traded to Carlton to help facilitate the deal. <\/p>\n

The beloved Swans were holidaying in South America when they were told their careers in Sydney were over. It was a tough call for Cox to make \u2013 but he knew he had to make a change to ensure the club was not only competitive, but in premiership contention. <\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD NOW: YOUR 2026 AFL TIPPING CHART POSTER<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Voss<\/p>\n

The result is two teams who genuinely believe they are better off. The Swans have the key forward they need, while the Blues have a team full of high-quality role players with a bounty of first-round draft picks at their disposal. <\/p>\n

Whoever wins on Thursday will be the team that deals with the emotion at hand. And despite Hayward and Florent\u2019s history at the Swans, they\u2019re backing themselves to get the job done. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe players have spoken about them,\u201d Cox said. \u201cI\u2019ve experienced having a premiership captain leave and playing him the following year; it happens in every football team. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Opening Round, so there are a bit more eyes on it. But the players certainly understand what Will and Ollie can do. They\u2019re Carlton footballers, so we\u2019ll deal with that accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heeney added: \u201c(It\u2019s) strictly business at the moment. It was obviously tough seeing them go, being such amazing clubmen \u2026 but it\u2019s gonna be on this Thursday, and I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He\u2019s the name on everyone\u2019s lips ahead of Thursday night\u2019s first match of the AFL season between Sydney…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[259312,638,64,63,689,55,639,1129,12148,181703,259314,13774,667,259311,147321,3487,29652,35801,134636,62849,673,677,71073,15826,259313,238847,131850,259310,85,670,7200,1133,19121],"class_list":{"0":"post-519339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-matchidafl20260001","9":"tag-afl","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","13":"tag-australian-football-league","14":"tag-australianfootballleague","15":"tag-charlie-curnow","16":"tag-dean-cox","17":"tag-familiar-faces","18":"tag-fans-ready","19":"tag-football-team","20":"tag-footy-club","21":"tag-high-quality-role-players","22":"tag-ideal-scenario","23":"tag-isaac-heeney","24":"tag-logan-mcdonald","25":"tag-malcolm-rosas","26":"tag-marc-murphy","27":"tag-maroubra","28":"tag-new-south-wales","29":"tag-oceania","30":"tag-premiership-captain","31":"tag-premiership-contention","32":"tag-proud-travelling-contingent","33":"tag-real-competitor","34":"tag-real-presence","35":"tag-silent-treatment","36":"tag-sports","37":"tag-sydney","38":"tag-sydney-swans","39":"tag-trade-period","40":"tag-young-players"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519339","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=519339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}