Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has responded to speculation linking Carlton spearhead Charlie Curnow with a potential move to the Suns, saying he understands why the club is becoming an increasingly attractive destination, even if he won’t entertain specific names.
Reports earlier this week suggested Curnow was open to leaving Melbourne, with the Suns, Geelong, and Sydney mentioned as possible suitors.
While Hardwick stopped short of commenting on the Carlton star directly, he acknowledged the growing interest in Gold Coast’s rising project.
“This side is looking pretty good”
“I think this time of year you can understand, there’s names being bandied around and all that sort of stuff,” Hardwick told reporters. “We’re like any other club, we’re trying to improve our list and what that looks like.’
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“Taking the Curnow name out of it, what I do know is that people will start to look at Gold Coast as an unbelievable lifestyle up here. Trust me, I know, I live it.”
“But more importantly, they’re looking at the emerging side that we’ve got and they’re thinking, ‘This side is looking pretty good’. We can understand people hopefully want to come here and join on this journey.”
Curnow remains contracted to Carlton, and coach Michael Voss was unequivocal when asked about the chatter.
“Charlie is a Carlton man and he’ll stay a Carlton man,” Voss said. “He’s a very important person to us, and he’ll play out his career here.”