Cripps: Off-field behaviour a “wake-up call” for Carlton

Carlton captain Patrick Cripps says recent off-field misdemeanours serve as a good “wake-up call” for he and his Blues teammates.

Lachie Cowan was suspended for two games after ending up in hospital during a recent night out, while Will Hayward was cleared of any wrongdoing after requiring treatment for a head injury sustained after the same night out.

Wade Derksen was also suspended by the club for pre-season games and the first three matches of the 2027 season proper for drink-driving after blowing 0.174 - over three times the legal limit - in the Northern Territory a fortnight ago.

Cripps says this type of behaviour is a great lesson to learn as the Blues look to capitalise on last season’s momentum when they enter 2027 under Josh Fraser as full-time senior coach.

“I felt the club was really strong, they came out and got on the front foot with both (incidents),” Cripps told SEN Breakfast.

“For me as a leader, firstly you want to check in to make sure they’re ok. But you also want to make sure you build a relationship with those guys where they actually feel comfortable to chat to you as well. Which both did.

“Obviously they felt it enough, they both were embarrassed with it all. For me now it’s just letting them know that you’ve got the whole summer to win the respect back of the group, and no matter what I’ve always got their back.

“For where we want to go as a group and what we want to achieve we need everyone locking in and getting back to work.”

How did Cripps feel about the behaviour of his teammates? While there was some disappointment he prefers to look on the bright side.

The setting of standards has been something the two-time Brownlow Medallist has prioritised during his stint as skipper and he’d rather his peers learn from their mistakes than be hung, drawn and quartered.

“You’re always disappointed in that situation, but they felt the emotion,” he added.

“I feel like as a group for a long period of time we’ve been really good in this space. It shows when you get a couple (of instances), with culture it’s always evolving and you’ve got to be really strong in your standards and what you believe in.

“Going forward it’s just a good wake-up call for the group. I feel like as a group with some of the young talent coming through, some of the players we’ve added, and the way we finished off the year we’re in a really good position going into next year.

“So we need everyone buying in and coming back in really good nick. In this game they’re hard to win so as a leader you want to set the standard and say, ‘Hey, this is what we expect as a group, now come back and show us how much it means to you on day one of pre-season’.”

Carlton captaincy

As for his captaincy, which has been going for eight seasons, Cripps is still keen to lead the club.

But he understands he won’t be skipper forever.

Cripps was co-captain with Sam Docherty from 2019 for three seasons before being named sole skipper in 2022 - a role he’s held since - but there are two great options waiting in the wings in co-vice-captains Sam Walsh and Jacob Weitering.

“It’s something I still enjoy doing, but I’ve always been one with captaincy that it’s never been an ego decision,” Cripps said of his leadership status.

“I’ll sit down with the club, ‘Frase’ (Fraser) and Chris Davies before the start of the season. I really enjoy enjoy doing it, but I also know you don’t need to be captain to be a leader.

“I always take note of previous leaders around other clubs and the way they’ve done it. I really enjoyed what Scott Pendlebury did at the back end of his career.

“Where I’m at right now I’m still enjoying it, but I want to be there and be a mentor for the next captain who comes through and the other young leaders.

“I’ve still got a lot of good footy left in me. From a leadership front, I know I’ll still lead even if I’m captain or not.”

Walsh seems to be the heir apparent to the Carlton captaincy job, and he would be a welcome replacement in the eyes of Cripps himself.

“You’ve just got to see the way he plays, he’s got this fierce determination of getting the best out of himself, but he leads by example,” Cripps said of the reigning best and fairest.

“He’ll be a great captain of the Carlton footy club. I have zero doubt about that.

“We’re in a lucky position with him and ‘Weiters’ (Weitering), they could probably captain any other club right now. That’s the quality of what they bring.

“Sometimes at clubs it’s like ‘who is the next captain?’. For us it’s not really that sort of discussion. It’s when do you give them the reins?

“The more you get to know ‘Walshy’ it’s his ability to connect with all ages. He’s a very social guy, he just has a way to connect with people whether they’re the youngest on the list or whether you’re a board member.

“He’ll be a great captain.”

Listen to the full chat with Cripps below: