Carlton Supporters Club

Did we ever confirm who got Ed Curnow back when?

Finding a way to win is the sign of a good team. A team that has just won a flag is never "not that good." Whether you perceive them as blue chip or blue collar is not relevant.

If they have as many plonkers, plodders and b-graders as some suggest, then their recent flag entitles them to more respect, not less.

When a team with too much talent wins a flag, that gets poo-pooed because well, of course they're going to win with so many A graders - even I could coach team X to a flag with that talent. When a team of plonkers win a flag, then it's because they got lucky, competition was average, GF opponent had an off day etc.

Winning a flag is incredibly hard. Any team that does so is very good. Period.

Did we ever confirm who got Ed Curnow back when?

While i don't disagree with the majority of what you wrote, i think you (and some others) have missed the major reason the Tigers won the flag.

They had basically ZERO injuries all year.

Cotchin (25)
Martin (25)
Grigg (25)
Rance (25)
Rioli (25)
Astbury (25)
Castagna (25)
Ellis (25)
Grimes (25)
Nankervis (24)
Lambert (24)
McIntosh (24)
Riewoldt (23)
Butler (23)
Caddy (22)
Prestia (22)
Houli (21)* Missed games because of suspension for KO'ing Lamb from memory
Edwards (20)


That is 18 players that played 20 or more games from their grandfinal side. Half of them, played all 25!
Doing the maths, it means that only 4 players from their Grand Final side played less than 20 games for the year.


That is simply unheard of.

So yes, they got lucky.....because they didn't get any injuries!

CARLTON coach Brendon Bolton has called Ed Curnow’s parents to explain a move to send him back onto the field with an injured larynx.

Curnow is in danger of missing the rest of the season after suffering the bruised larynx in the Round 14 loss to Richmond.

Carlton has confirmed the tagger is still experiencing difficulty talking during activity.

Curnow sought medical treatment on the interchange bench after receiving a blow to the throat and was permitted to return to the field for a short period.

He went to hospital that night.

“It’s probably the strangest injury I’ve had in my career,” he said.

“I got a tiny elbow to my neck playing against Richmond in the first minute.

I got sick of reading about who smashed Ed’s larynx so I’ve just watched the game focusing on Ed...

No doubt. Most teams that win a flag need luck of one type or another. They certainly had a great run with injuries. The real question that is impossible to answer is how big a role did that lack of injuries play ? The Dogs won in 2016 with a bad run of injuries : Murphy, Johannisen, Adams, McLean, Wallis, Redpath, Morris, Stringer, Dahlhaus and Libba, were either out for the season or out at various points.

I guess when it's your time............

Thats the real question? Seriously??

Umm....it helped them greatly? Not changing a side week to week is an advantage. Never having your best players out of the side is obviously a huge advantage.

I'd hazard a guess and say there is not team in recent history that even comes close to that kind of dream run with injuries.

Sure it helps, of course it makes a difference, but it's not the difference between a flag and no flag, as the Dogs proved the previous year.

Who cares about the dogs. Every other team that year had a normal amount of injuries.

What i'm saying is if the Tigers had even a normal amount of injuries, they don't win the flag.

If any team manages to get through a season like that in terms of injuries, they SHOULD win the flag!

The Dogs comparison is perfectly valid.

At any rate, there are people on here who will tell you that the Tigers are major league plonkers, and even their best 22 is barely good enough to finish 9th. And here we are discussing injuries.

Your logic is flawed.

What i'm saying is if a team has basically zero injuries, they should win the flag.
What i'm not saying is a team with injuries cannot win a flag.

It is so rare that a team doesn't have injuries but every year a team wins the flag.....with injuries.