Charlie Curnow has addressed his blockbuster move to the Sydney Swans, stating he intends to reach out to Buddy Franklin and denying he had any issues with Carlton coach Michael Voss.
Curnow's move to Sydney was only finalised in the dying minutes of the trade period and the deal for three first-round picks and Will Hayward is already considered one of the biggest AFL trades ever.
Appearing at the SCG on Thursday in a red Swans polo shirt, the 28-year-old said last week's trip to Sydney to meet coach Dean Cox and tour the club's facilities was the first time the trade appeared a real possibility.
“Last week, we went up to Sydney and had a chat with ‘Coxy’ and a few of the guys and that (made it) start becoming a bit of a possibility,” he said.
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“But honestly, a week ago, I had no idea what was going on.
"Obviously I put myself out there for a trade before that and yeah, it worked out really well.”
There had been reports Curnow and Voss had butted heads on more than one occasion, but Curnow denied that was the case.
“Nah, not at all,” he insisted. “In the end, it’s a pretty high-pressure environment (at Carlton).
"Obviously, some things maybe leaked out there that I would say aren’t true.
"It’s always a tough environment, football, and it’s going to be a lot of challenges that come with that, but for me and him, I don’t see our relationship being affected at all by this.
“It’s just, I had to have a few good conversations with him at the end of the season, to, if I want to get traded, you have to do that.
"I’m not going to go behind his back and just start putting myself out there.
“I think we’re in a pretty healthy spot, and as I’ve said, I played some awesome footy under him, and I thank him a lot for that.”
Curnow said he had spoken with some Blues teammates "for three months" about a possible move and was "really transparent with them".
He is also excited about what the Swans can achieve, calling them "one of the best teams in the competition" when they made their grand final run in 2023.
Curnow also plans to contact Franklin, who was the last in a long line of key forwards to make the move to Sydney prior to the former Carlton spearhead.
“I haven’t yet," he said. "I grew up watching Buddy.
"I’ll probably hopefully reach out to Buddy over the next couple of days.”