Is Voss to blame for underdone Curnow’s shocker?

Charlie Curnow endured the worst game Kane Cornes has ever seen him play in Thursday’s loss to Hawthorn.

The key forward had just five disposals and was easily accounted for by Josh Battle in their one-on-one match-up in his first game back from an interrupted off-season.

Curnow missed a lot of the summer after undergoing knee and ankle surgery, and Cornes was certain he wasn’t ready to play by quarter-time when he was worked on by trainers and given pickle juice to relieve cramps.

As a result, Cornes put the blame on coach Michael Voss for picking a player who just wasn’t ready to impact an AFL game.

“There are some areas Michael Voss will have to address that this week,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.

“When you have a player on the ground getting a rub down at quarter time, sucking on pickle juice, I don't know… it’s probably a sign that they’re not ready to play.

“I’m talking about Charlie Curnow, who played the worst game I’ve ever seen him play.

“You can pick on Voss for selecting Charlie, this is not a crack at Charlie.

“If you're on the ground, exhausted at quarter-time drinking pickle juice (he’s not ready).”

Cornes thinks that Curnow’s underwhelming performance would have affected the side that is so used to his focal presence inside 50, and called out the club’s high-performance team for passing the two-time Coleman winner fit to play.

“Of course, you want to get him into the side, but sometimes players aren't ready,” Cornes said.

“Sometimes in this game when it's so close, and it's hard enough when you're fully fit, let alone a quarter fit, and you select them, that's what you get.

“He doesn't touch the footy in the first quarter, and he's wrestling, and he's frustrated… what that does to everyone else is detrimental. Like he just wasn't ready to go. Not even close.

“They've got a new high-performance team, they've reviewed that heavily. Andrew Russell's gone there's a new one that's come in.

“He's got to take responsibility for that as well, Rob Inness. As a match committee, you also put your hand up and go, ‘We got that wrong, badly wrong, because Battle was unbelievable, and Curnow was a liability’.”

Carlton will hope that Curnow will be better for the run when they face the Western Bulldogs next Friday at Marvel Stadium.