Charlie Curnow is grateful for older brother Ed’s influence, although sibling rivalry was ever-present at Bellbrae.

The youngest of five after Charlotte, Ed, Eliza and George, Charlie remembered that no quarter was asked nor given in those formative years down on the farm.

“He (Ed) is an awesome brother, and he’s always been pretty competitive, as any little brother would know,” said Charlie on the eve of Ed’s 100^th senior appearance for Carlton on Sunday. 

“It was pretty full-on when we were growing up and George used to cop a fair bit from Ed. We used to play games of roller hockey in a big airplane hangar down the back, and we’d cannon into barbecues Dad left there. Ed was normally the one who pushed us into them and we’d end up with stitches, but it was all pretty good fun.”

And yet, there was a softer side to Curnow E too. To quote Charlie, “I remember he used to ride horses around the local Pony Club with my sisters . . . he was a bit of an odd unit”.

When Ed got rookie drafted to Adelaide in 2008, Charlie was still lugging schoolbooks. “I was in Year 8 at the time, and Ed was pretty much gone from then on,” Charlie said. “But he used to come home whenever he got a break and he was always good fun when he came back.”

In the lead-up to his own drafting in late 2015, Charlie naturally harboured hope that the cards would fall his way and he’d be reunited with Ed at Bluesville. “I thought I’d be a chance to get drafted here, but didn’t want to believe it just in case it didn’t happen,” Charlie said.

“The night it actually happened, he (Ed) called me and he was pretty stoked. I remember him saying ‘You can normally get to the same club under the father/son rule, but it doesn’t normally happen that two brothers can end up at the same club.’ I was pretty happy too.”

Fate finally then bought the pair together in Dark Navy, when Charlie completed his senior debut in the second round match with the Swans in April this year.

Charlie Curnow is congratulated after booting his first goal on debut. (Photo: AFL Media)

“I played alongside him for the first time against Sydney and it was pretty awesome,” Charlie said. 

“In terms of the preparation we did our own thing, as every player has his own routine. But I do remember walking into the rooms and finding it hard to believe that I was actually in there with him. I had to remind myself ‘Oh yeah, that’s my brother’.”

Of Ed’s unrelenting midfield challenges posed by the likes of Ablett, Pendlebury and Selwood, Charlie noted his older brother’s measured approach. 

“Ed always keeps a level-mind,” said Curnow junior. “He probably doesn’t think too much about his opponent, but rather his own strengths and what he can bring to the game – and he’s made a name for himself anyway.

“He’s definitely flying along right now and after that checkside goal at the weekend he’s really up and about.”

Ed Curnow’s impending 100^th match means his name shares locker space with Carlton’s Jack Conley and Peter Dean, the club’s 135-game and 248-game players respectively to wear the No.35.