Patrick Cripps wasn’t at his dominant best this afternoon for the Blues, and it’s been revealed he spent the morning in hospital with an ear infection.
The Blues skipper played his 100th game in the win over St Kilda and finished with 22 disposals, six tackles and five clearances.
Coach David Teague confirmed he didn’t know whether Cripps would play when he arrived at the ground.
“He did have an illness. I don’t know all the details. I think you’re on the money (saying it was an ear infection),” he told reporters post-game.
“I got a call this morning that said he may not play, but he got here. I think he had all of his family from W.A over and he couldn’t afford to fly them back over next week.
“He soldiered on. He was pretty strong in there. He did a lot of unselfish stuff. We knew they were going to double team him.
“We wanted to position him in a way that would help the team and not so much his stat sheet.
“He’s a warrior and he found a way today.
“It probably effected his energy levels and how he felt on the field, but I’m not exactly sure, but he declared himself right to go and he fought hard enough to be valuable for us.”
The Blues picked up a 10-point win over St Kilda at the MCG. Their seventh in of the season and sixth under Teague.