Charlton made his first grade debut for Canterbury in round 6 against arch-rivals Parramatta at Cumberland Oval with Canterbury winning 11–5. Charlton played a total of eight seasons at Canterbury and was used infrequently in the first grade team. However he did play in numerous finals campaigns for the club. In 1974, he played in both finals matches as Canterbury reached the grand final that season however he was not selected in the grand final team. He later featured in the 1975 and 1976 finals campaigns. In 1976, he played in Canterbury's narrow loss to Manly in the semi-final. In total, Charlton played a total of 175 games for Canterbury in all grades. In 1979, Charlton signed for the struggling Newtown side which had collected the Wooden Spoon in 1978. Charlton played in Newtown's round 1 game against South Sydney which Newtown won 7-6 however he never played for the club again in first grade. In 1980, Charlton played for the Campbelltown City Kangaroos.[2]
Charlton was the nephew of former Western Suburbs, Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury player Neville Charlton. His father Ken Charlton played for Canterbury in the 1940s and 1950s. Charlton's brother Tony played 42 first grade games for Parramatta between 1973 and 1976.[3]
