CARLTON'S defensive midfielder Ed Curnow stuck up for his coach Mick Malthouse after the Blues' 23-point win over North Melbourne on Friday night.
He said he trusts the veteran coach and thinks Malthouse trusts the players in return.
Curnow guessed the emotion that spilled out of Malthouse and was directed at sections of the media during last week's match at the SCG against the Sydney Swans was a natural consequence of the scrutiny the club had been under all season for its poor performance.
"We've had a poor year," Curnow told AFL.com.au. "He has copped that all year and you can only imagine it is going to boil up a bit."
Curnow said the playing group understands where Malthouse is coming from and he didn't mention any of the external discussion surrounding him in the lead-up to the game.
"He is a great person and we believe in him, we trust him and he trusts us. The week was as per usual. He didn't even mention it," Curnow said.
Curnow is one player who can be trusted to do a job when required and he was at it again on Friday night.
His role was to shut down North Melbourne playmaker Brent Harvey, which he did well until he received a corkie early in the third quarter.
Up until half-time he had limited Harvey to nine disposals and two goals, the second coming late in the first half.
"He makes you earn it," Curnow said. "He's obviously a great player and his team protect him. He has got a few tricks up his sleeve as he was trying to tell me during the game. He still had a good game."
Curnow said Carlton had a plan to stop the opposition from scoring heavily when it lost the momentum. And it worked.
He said the team also concentrated on shutting down North Melbourne's outlets, denying the Roos short kicks and working hard one-on-one to force the error.
Malthouse has now coached five times against Brad Scott-coached teams and won five times.
And it was the modest Curnow who played a key role in making such an unlikely win happen.
"Although it has been a disappointing year it's nice to have these little victories along the way and I'm sure they are going to hold us in good stead in the future," Curnow said.
