‘Work in progress’: Swans coach’s Curnow call after superstar’s Hawks fadeout

Dean Cox said Charlie Curnow remains a “work in progress” at the Swans after the superstar forward’s second-half disappearing act on Thursday night.

But Sydney’s coach also lamented the decreased quality of forward entries that “didn’t help” Curnow’s cause as the night wore on.

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After a two-goal firestarter opening to the MCG blockbuster, Curnow was held to just one disposal across the third and fourth quarters as the undermanned Swans fell to Hawthorn by 17 points.

The 29-year-old finished with 2.1 from seven disposals and two marks, having been well and truly blanketed by Hawthorn stopper Tom Barrass – who had 11 intercepts and 10 spoils – after earlier having his way with Josh Battle.

“Curnow was a really interesting one tonight — started the game well. He kicks two in the first term and you think ‘oh he’s up and about’,” Hall of Fame Legend Jason Dunstall said on Fox Footy post-game.

“He had an interesting duel with Josh Battle early, then Tom Barrass went to him in the second half and just destroyed him. He had one possession in the second half.

“That made life really difficult for Sydney, when you’ve haven’t got a key forward that is giving you something or being that target you can kick to with confidence.”

Saints great Leigh Montagna added: “Maybe there were times … where Curnow just didn’t will himself into the contest enough to bring it to ground, and allowed Barrass to do what he pleased.”

In his post-match press conference, Cox was probed on what went wrong for the dual Coleman medallist as the game wore on.

“I think the first half we had some speed on the ball that worked well (and) gave him some good looks inside 50,” Cox told reporters on Thursday night.

“I think the second half, our ability to execute centre-forward dropped away. I think at one stage we had 17 per cent scores-per-inside-50 in the last quarter, 38 in the first, nine in the second.

“So, some of our entries, method, execution didn’t help – and he’s playing on some really strong defenders.

“It’s something we’ve got to work through with him and the side as well.”

Asked if Curnow was still learning the Swans’ system, Cox was quick to leap to his spearhead’s defence, before admitting his fit in the side’s new-look forward unit remains a “work in progress”.

“Yeah, definitely (he’s still learning),” Cox said.

“I think the hard part to do it is through the preseason – you’re playing yourself. So, do you put your backs on your forwards? Do you try and get cohesion between backs, mids and forwards on one team?

“So, the ability for Charlie to perform consistently is still working his way through at our football club. One thing we try and say is, at all times, compete as hard as you possibly can, and try and read the cues up the ground when we are bringing the ball through.

“There’s some inconsistencies throughout that at times, and it’ll be a work in progress that we’re going to put time into.”

It was evident that Barrass read the play much better than Curnow in the second half, who at times needed to have more urgency in leading to the ball-carrier.

Asked how Cox should address Curnow’s fadeout privately, Dunstall said: “(Later on) you talk about how disappointed you are that he couldn’t have any impact in the second half.

“I thought, once you get Barrass as an opponent, don’t play to his strength. Don’t just call it long in the air – get on your bike and start leading. Cover ground, take him out of his comfort zone.

“Maybe a little bit of that is limited because they weren’t controlling the footy in transition. They weren’t able to actually get some good looks going forward. Look, he’d be disappointed with it.

“I think Dean Cox is a forward enough coach to sit down and say ‘mate, we needed more from you’.”

After Montagna added that Barrass was able to “outwork” Curnow, Dunstall said that was the one “non-negotiable” for the Swans star.

“That’s the one thing you can’t accept, if you’re Charlie Curnow,” Dunstall said.

“You can get beaten on the day by a good player — no problems there. (But) you can’t get outworked. That’s the one non-negotiable.”