Brendan Fevola slams Charlie Curnow as ‘woke’ ahead of potential Sydney trade

Carlton champion Brendan Fevola has taken aim at Charlie Curnow just hours before the star forward learns whether he will be traded to Sydney, labelling him “woke.”

The Swans and Blues are in the final stages of negotiating a deal that would send Curnow to Sydney in exchange for Ollie Florent and Will Hayward.

The sticking point is the draft picks Sydney will give up, after Carlton rejected their initial offer made yesterday.

Sydney proposed sending draft pick No. 11, a first-round selection next year, along with Florent and Hayward to Carlton in exchange for Curnow and pick No. 22 — an offer the Blues knocked back on Wednesday morning.

Geelong’s offer last week of first-round selections in the next three drafts for Curnow was swiftly rejected, and the Cats have not improved that offer. It now appears that if Curnow is traded, it will be to Sydney.

7NEWS AFL reporter Xander McGuire also reported that agreeing on Curnow’s salary and contract length — he is contracted at Carlton until 2030 — also needs ironing out.

Regardless, the two-time Coleman medallist is almost certain to be at another club by tonight’s 7.30pm deadline.

“I’m actually glad he’s getting traded,” Fevola said on FoxFM this morning.

Co-host Fifi Box added: “I feel for Carlton, I don’t think it’s actually fair.

“I don’t think you should be able to say, ‘I don’t want to play for you anymore’, but you’re contracted.”

Fevola: “It’s the new woke. This is woke.

“You look at Sydney, the two players that they offered up, they’re both contracted. Sydney went to them and said, ‘You’re out, we’re getting him in’, and they didn’t want to leave. But now they’ve got to go.

“I think Charlie had a bit of a disagreement with the coach.

“Vossy’s hard, and I think he gave him a talking-to, and he didn’t like it, so he goes ‘waaaah, I’m out’.”

Box: “I just think if you’ve signed the contract to play for a club for a certain amount of years, be true to your word.”

Fevola: “Well, Carlton got rid of me when I still had two years left on my contract, and I didn’t want to leave, but I left.

“I still had two years - it’s what they do. Clubs don’t have any loyalty to the player; if they can get something better, they’ll better it.

“So, the player shouldn’t have the loyalty to the club. It’s a business.”

The Swans’ Curnow chase and Hawthorn’s audacious attempt to snag Essendon captain Zach Merrett will go down to the wire in a blockbuster final day of AFL trades.

The pair headline a series of big names whose futures will be decided by Wednesday’s 7:30pm AEDT deadline.

Christian Petracca (Gold Coast), Clayton Oliver (GWS), Rowan Marshall (Geelong), Callum Ah Chee (Adelaide) and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Gold Coast) are all still awaiting moves to their clubs of choice.

Carlton have indicated only a “Godfather deal” would shift their position on Curnow, contracted until the end of 2029.

The Bombers knocked back Hawthorn’s first bid for Merrett, who blindsided his club a month ago when news broke he had met with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell, on Tuesday night.

Essendon have maintained they will not entertain a trade for Merrett, who is signed until the end of 2027 but is desperate to leave for Hawthorn as he chases team success.

Hawthorn made their first offer for Merrett on Tuesday, putting up their first-round draft pick this year (currently pick No.9), their first-round selection next year, plus a second-round pick this year or next.

Hawks youngster Henry Hustwaite, who played four senior games this season, was also part of the emailed proposal, which Hawthorn gave Essendon a 7pm deadline to respond to.

“Our position has not changed,” an Essendon spokesman said, before the Bombers formally knocked back the offer after the Hawks’ deadline had well and truly passed.

The Hawks could explore trade options for their top draft pick, while defender Changkuoth Jiath is set to join Melbourne.

Gold Coast’s deal for Petracca looks certain to hinge on the Suns’ picks No.7 and No.8, with the Demons star contracted until the end of 2029.

GWS want to send a third-round draft pick Melbourne’s way for Oliver, whose current deal runs until 2030, while the Demons are set to handle a large chunk of his bumper salary.

The Giants re-signed defender Leek Aleer on a two-year deal after St Kilda backflipped on their plans to trade for him.

St Kilda are adamant they won’t deal Marshall to the Cats, believing he can play alongside recruit Tom De Koning.

Brisbane and Adelaide have been unable to agree on a price for two-time premiership utility Ah Chee, with the Lions keen on Adelaide’s first round pick (No.16) or a future first-round pick.

The Bulldogs snapped up Connor Budarick from the Suns on Tuesday and are expected to send Ugle-Hagan north on Wednesday.

With 7NEWS