AFL
15 minutes ago
The question of Patrick Cripps that needs asking
By SEN
It’s a very early call, and it’s only a preliminary thought, but Kane Cornes has questioned Carlton captain Patrick Cripps.
The two-time Brownlow Medallist was below his best in Thursday night’s season-opening 63-point defeat to the Sydney Swans at the SCG.
Cripps had 19 disposals and four clearances in a subpar showing on a dark night for the Blues. The Swans on-ball unit buzzed around him all night and he was unable to have an impact when sent forward.
It begs the question: Is he past his prime?
“It may be a fraction premature,” Cornes said on SEN’s Fireball.
“But 13 seasons at 30 years of age, champion of the game, he’s done everything in football apart from a premiership.
“He has carried this club singlehandedly for 10 years - but is he past his best? Has Patrick Cripps’ best passed him by?
“That is now a question that is worth asking off the back of probably 18 months of evidence. Certainly the season last year.”
Cornes wonders what Cripps’ best attribute is these days.
“What’s his weapon now? Because he goes forward and he never looks threatening,” Cornes added.
“They moved him out of the midfield in the last quarter but he’s not going to be a threat as a genuine forward.
“He doesn’t have the speed, he can’t get a split on the lead and he’s not big enough to take contested marks against genuine AFL key defenders. He gets exposed when he’s around the ball and Isaac Heeney did that to him from the centre with that goal-side goal.
“He looked frustrated, he was giving away off-the-ball free kicks - I’ve never seen that from Cripps. How deflating was it for the captain to look that frustrated.
“He looks like a frustrated player who is past his best. It happened to Nat Fyfe. Fyfe was an explosive beast - more injuries and issues with his body than Cripps.
“But it’s a question we have to ask. It happens to everyone. Has it happened just a fraction earlier for Patrick Cripps?”
Co-host David King suggests Cripps is a victim of not having enough support around him in the middle.
“You’re going early with it, but there’s little support around the edges,” said King.
“When they are getting beaten for spread, for run on the outside - how many magnets can they actually go to?
“They’ve got too many players who are one position and one position only.”
Cripps and the Blues will be intent on recoiling from a disastrous opening night when they take on Richmond at the MCG next Thursday night.
