This weekend, Carlton key forward Charlie Curnow will play his first game of football since the middle of 2019.
Knee setback after knee setback has held down the 24-year-old, but the club has confirmed that he will play in their VFL clash with Collingwood on Sunday.
The last time Blues fans saw Curnow play four quarters of football, he booted seven goals and picked up three Brownlow votes against the Western Bulldogs.
He was the centrepiece of the Carlton forward line and had kicked 14 goals and taken 25 marks in his last four games.
Since then, fellow 2015 draftee Harry McKay has emerged as the man inside 50 for the Blues and currently leads the Coleman Medal. Blues fans have barely seen the pair play together and will be hoping to get a glimpse before the end of 2021.
The third member of that 2015 draft trio is star defender Jacob Weitering, who has had his fair share of opportunities playing on Curnow at training, particularly since he has returned to full training this year.
“Charlie’s looking unbelievable,” Weitering told SEN’s Whateley.
“It’s really good to see him out here. He’s spent two years off the track rehabbing and he’s had some ups and downs and some setbacks which would be really hard to go through.
“Only recently, probably in the last six to eight weeks, he’s been training one drill here or there with the main group and then in recent weeks he’s come on.
“He took a really nice contested mark last week and I think everyone, with the knee injury, everyone held their breath a little bit, but he went up took the mark and came down beautifully, swung around, rolled and hit a target inside 50.
“It’s really exciting. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s moving really well.”
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Weitering, who has played on all of the game’s best key forwards, could not have higher praise for Curnow.
“He’s a nightmare to play on at training. He’s a nightmare. He’s Kouta (Anthony Koutoufides) like.”
“He’s long, he’s 194cm, he’s light but still unbelievably strong in a contest. He can jump over you, he can lead really well, he can run up the ground, he’s got a really good tank, he’s in the top five for our 2km time trial like his brother.
“I think long-term for him it’s taking it week by week and building on what he’s got at the moment. It’s his first game back in two years. That’s all he’s got to worry about.
“Go out and do a role for the team, he doesn’t have to kick five or six in the VFL. Kick one or two, give one off, take some nice marks and do some team things.
“That’s what we’re looking for him to do and build off that.”
Curnow is expected to be on restricted minutes in the VFL this weekend and his return comes at a good time for the Blues who are ravaged on the injury front.
Levi Casboult is set to miss three weeks with a knee injury of his own, while Mitch McGovern (hamstring) remains a fortnight away from his return.
Ruckmen Marc Pittonet (ankle) and Alex Mirkov (knee) are likely out for the season, Oscar McDonald (back) remains a few weeks away, Caleb Marchbank has a torn ACL and Liam Jones was a late withdrawal with his own back issue.
According to the Blues, Jones is a strong chance to play this weekend, but if he doesn’t their healthy key position stocks consist of only McKay, Weitering and Tom De Koning.
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