A key position forward, Curnow is a two-time winner of Coleman Medal as leading goalkicker in the AFL home-and-away season.

[1] He was considered one of the top draft prospects on potential, but with a few risks; namely that his junior form had shown flashes of brilliance rather than consistent brilliance;[2] that he had suffered a knee injury which saw him miss a large part of his final year of under-18s football;[3] and that he had been arrested for refusing a breath test in the week prior to the draft.

[1] Charlie's older brother, Ed Curnow, had already been playing senior football at Carlton for five years at the time.

In June 2018, Curnow signed a four-year contract extension with Carlton, committing his future to the club until 2023.

[11] Teammate Harry McKay had won the medal in 2021, the pair became the first different players from the same team to win consecutive VFL/AFL leading goalkicker awards since 1900–1901.