‘Done’: Blues superstar breaks silence on bombshell trade rumours as Voss doubles down

Charlie Curnow has emphatically declared “I’m playing at Carlton next year” as Blues coach Michael Voss says he’s ready to move on from trade rumours involving the superstar forward.

A shock report this week stated Curnow was interested in a trade to Gold Coast for lifestyle reasons, while the dual Coleman medallist, contracted at Ikon Park until 2029, has also been linked to Geelong and Sydney.

But Curnow after his side’s loss to Hawthorn on Thursday night shut down the trade talk, telling reporters: “I’m playing at Carlton next year. Done.”

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Curnow, 28, said suggestions he wanted a trade had affected he and his family, also denying he’d told the Blues he wanted to explore his options.

Voss, who earlier this week ensured Curnow was a “Carlton man and will stay a Carlton man,” said he hadn’t spoken with the star forward about the trade rumours this week as they look to move past it.

“Nothing about that (in our conversations). Surprisingly,” Voss told reporters on Thursday night.

“Normally what happens is a story emerges and there’s speculation and hearsay about what has or hasn’t been said. Then I get asked a question about it in the press conference and someone writes a story about what I say. Then it becomes somewhat true, and it’s not.

“So we move. That’s what I’ll do, I’ll move on and I’m sure he will as well.”

Saints legend Leigh Montagna meanwhile highlighted that Curnow never actually asked for a trade.

Docherty farewell ends in loss | 02:16

“I think there’s a big difference between a player towards the back-end of his career at a club that isn’t going to play finals to think about what life would look like at another club, as opposed to saying: ‘Yes, I want out’,” Montagna said.

“I can see it both ways, but I’m glad he’s staying. I want to see him stay at Carlton and be a Carlton person through and through.”

Curnow responded to a big week of headlines with two goals on a night his forward partner in crime Harry McKay returned from a knee injury.

But the 7-12 Blues were comfortably beaten by Hawthorn in Sam Docherty’s final match and Jacob Weitering’s 200th game to continue their disappointing season that will end in a second-straight finals miss.

Carlton started slow out of the gates, conceding six goals in the first term and trailing by as much as 43 points at one stage, before fighting back in the second half to make the final margin a respectable 24 points.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 24: Michael Voss, Senior Coach of the Blues looks on during the 2025 AFL Round 20 match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Carlton Blues at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 24, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Voss said it exemplified the “story” of the Blues season of “sometimes not always” as it failed to send out Docherty in style.

“The result was disappointing. We came in wanting to create a pretty special memory of two players we hold in the highest of regard. Had huge impact on our football club,” the Blues coach said.

“Obviously Doc has been well spoken about this week and I don’t know whether there’s another story we can tell about him, it’s all been spoken for us.

“I’ve had the fortune of being able to spend a bit more time with him behind the scenes. In all the discussions we had, his motivation for this football club has always been at the forefront of his mind. As he expressed the other day, he’s disappointed he can’t leave on better terms.

“And obviously with Jacob, it’s his 200th game and the way he’s been able to evolve his leadership over the most recent of times has been particularly impressive.

“We would've liked to have started better. The Hawks getting the jump and the scoreboard going that way proved too hard to be able to fight back.

“While the rest of the game was somewhat a stalemate, the reality was the margin was too big to drag back from what is a pretty good football team.”

Take a bow! Docherty scores in last game | 00:32

Voss, who along with several key figures at Ikon Park faces an uncertain future, said the club could still take valuable lessons out of the final few rounds.

“I said to the group before, even through these periods of time you’ve still got to take something out of it. Where’s the lesson to be learned? What do we want this to mean in the bigger picture?,” he added.

“We’ve heard some stories about some individuals who have had some really hard times and been able to find out their way on the other side and been a better version because of it.

“If that’s the time we need to take right now, we’ll take that. There will be plenty of conversations we need to be able to have and the meaning we want to take out of this period of time, as tough as it’s been.

“Because you can use that to be able to accelerate your growth. Whether you use it because it hurts and losing hurts, or it makes you hungry. Whatever your motivation is, we’ve got to find out what it is.

“What’s the hunger we need to have and the fight we need to develop over this period of time. We’ve got to get really clear on that.

“If that means it takes a few weeks to learn that even more, well so be it. But we’ve got to use this period of time, as disappointing as it’s been, in our favour. Take the lessons out of it and make ourselves better.”

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