How do you link the late Chris Mainwaring, a Daniel Chick banner, the Cripps brothers and a Brownlow Medal together?
Daniel Cripps has outlined how all those elements are linked in the wake of his younger brother Patrick’s Brownlow triumph.
Carlton captain Cripps took home the 2022 edition of Charlie after a dramatic count on Sunday night, edging Brisbane’s Lachie Neale and Gold Coast’s Touk Miller in the final round.
Speaking after his sibling’s win, Daniel touched on the family’s link to West Coast great Mainwaring, being “diehard” Eagles fans, their junior days in Northampton and at school at Aquinas College.
He also told a story about the 2006 Grand Final involving a tribute to Eagles premiership player Daniel Chick which landed the Cripps boys a slot in the paper.
“Chris Mainwaring and my dad are first cousins,” Cripps said on SEN WA’s The Run Home.
“Growing up we were diehard Eagles supporters and obviously with that family connection he had a big impact.
“I remember Chris coming down to Aquinas training sessions and helping out, not only just with Paddy, but also if dad asked him he would come down and help out my team as well. That was big.
“Then obviously with Northampton, it’s been well-documented that there are good football players everywhere (there).
“Daniel Chick was our next-door neighbour. I actually remember the 2006 Grand Final, we were over there (in Melbourne) and we made a banner called ‘Slick Chick’, climbed up on a ledge where they were doing the parade and we were up above everyone.
“‘Chicky’ drove past and saw us and gave us the thumbs up. We ended up getting a write-up in the Herald Sun.
“Growing up as kids, that was one of the best things ever, we just couldn’t believe it, we were pinching ourselves.”
Cripps, who is a professional punter specialising in Western Australian horse racing, admits he was keen on taking the $51 on offer for his brother to win the Brownlow late last year, but held off on his own advice until he had seen a bit more.
“I will blow my own trumpet here, when I saw the amount of work that he was doing in the pre-season and the corporates had written him off a little bit, he was $51 for the Brownlow,” Cripps added.
“I was telling people in October to make sure you have something on him because if he gets back to his best he’s probably closer to a $5 chance than a 50-1 shot.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get on as early as I was tipping to other people as I just wanted to make sure he got through pre-season unscathed.
“I ended up having a couple of dollars on him at 30-1, so that was the cherry on top on Sunday night.”
Cripps became the sixth Carlton player to win the Brownlow, capping off a superb individual season which included a third All-Australian selection.
Daniel’s racing service, Cripps Racing, focuses on WA horse racing and provides tips, previews and staking plans.