Carlton coach David Teague is urging co-captain Patrick Cripps to keep hunting the ball despite copping heavy-handed tactics from opposition players.
The gun midfielder collected 16 touches and laid five tackles in Carlton’s seven-point win over North Melbourne on Saturday but was once again subjected to heavy contact off the ball, with one fan capturing vision of Jed Anderson blocking him at a stoppage.
Teague said the tactics weren’t a new thing but it was a challenge Cripps would have to work through.
“You want your ball winners to be able to go hunt the ball,” Teague said on Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show.
“The opposition are coming out to try stop him and it’s a challenge – it’s not new this year.
“Patrick has been facing that for a while and I love the way he approaches it, he keeps hunting the ball and attacking and taking the game on.
“To his credit he keeps competing for us and that’s what we need.”
The 25-year-old has by his own admission played a more team role this year and it was something Teague was happy to see.
“The great thing is Patrick is on board with (the different role), he said.
“In the past, he has probably felt from a team point of view that he’s had to go in there and do it but now he trust his teammates around him.
“When the pressure was on, he was really strong for us.”
Should this have been a free for Cripps?
— 7AFL (@7AFL) July 25, 2020
(via @LaFramage)
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