Carlton Blues win proves how much they still need their captain Patrick Cripps
Carlton still need Patrick Cripps. Over the next three months they have to convince the captain that he still needs them.
A harrowing week at Princes Park ended with a drought-breaking win, thanks largely, though not exclusively, to the actions of the man wearing No 9 in dark blue.
Lauded for his work behind the scenes in rallying a splintered group, Cripps stole the show at center stage in the final quarter with a masterful performance reminiscent of his Brownlow years, scoring twice against the Western Bulldogs in 10.14 (74) to 9.8 (62) to put his side over the line.
If Michael Voss had been able to spare a few hours to watch the game as he moved out of the house on Saturday night, he might have asked himself why the Blues couldn’t put in such a performance when it was important to him.
The majority of the 39,217 fans at a club dominated by the Dark Blues spent much of the game wondering when the drops that disrupted the Blues’ season and cost Voss his job would come.
Instead, they enjoyed a cathartic final quarter when the Blues, against season trend, scored five consecutive goals to turn an eight-point lead at the final change into a game-winning 23-point lead, only to become more than a few touches angry when the Dogs cut the lead to 11 points with 28 seconds remaining.
“I wasn’t comfortable,” interim coach Josh Fraser admitted.
The win relied on the Blues’ strengths (+9) and tackling (+31). It was accompanied by pressures here where Fraser made a pre-game focal point to connect with the fans but has been missing for much of this year.
Cripps was at the heart of the Blues’ attack. His final term was a game changer. Going head to head with another midfield great Marcus Bontempelli, Cripps targeted 13 clearances, eight of which were contested, and five clearances, four of which were outside the centre.
If you score two goals, one of them coming from a scrum from a 50-forward stoppage, will probably get three votes on Brownlow night.
His performance was reminiscent of David Teague’s 38-ball, four-goal debut as manager in 2019, the last time the Blues lost their coach in a season.
“He’s an incredibly impressive guy, the way he leads and the way he led tonight, the way he carries out his role and also organizes and encourages others to do that,” Fraser said.
“He’s had a great week. I mean, it’s been a tough week for him, but the support he’s given me, the way he’s run the playgroup, it’s been fantastic.”
Nights like these are a timely reminder to a growing number of skeptics that the 31-year-old Cripps can still be strong in 2026, even as the game moves away from its competitiveness and openness.
“He came under some pretty harsh criticism, played a few games where he had Rick and his man hang on him, but he still had a pretty good year and had a lot of good football left over,” Newman told the outlet. “It was pretty harsh for some people to try to write it off so early.”
Cripps spoke in the week he announced his commitments for this season, but while he admitted he was contracted for 2027, it was what he did not detail about next year that would have other clubs at least asking the question.
After his ordeal at Carlton, many Blues fans wouldn’t begrudge Cripps the chance to move on if he so chooses. But wins like this, which include significant contributions from several young Blues players, should give the captain hope for the future.
Debutant Jack Ison, the first graduate from the club’s new generation academy to play senior football for the club, became an instant cult hero. He loves the big moments, as he showed regularly in an impressive first season in the VFL.
Ahead of the match, the 19-year-old delighted the masses with an indigenous tribal dance to celebrate the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
Ison, who wears the number 30 vacated by former crowd favorite Charlie Curnow, put them on their feet prematurely in the final period with a snap on the line and was back on their feet a few minutes later when he calmly converted a shot from 35 yards out, the most important of his 15 touches.
“He doesn’t miss any of that,” Cripps told Kayo Sports. “He kicked it big and gave us the dance [pre-game] and that’s what this tour is about. He is not shy.
“He’s got a good build at the moment and he’ll be a good player for this football club for a long time.”
Matt Carroll scored three goals, two from long range, playing on the wing in his second season of senior football. Lachie Cowan, 21, played arguably his best game and was praised by Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton for his stamina and fighting spirit.
While award-winning player Jagga Smith had important moments, Billy Wilson warmed up to the game after early tensions in his sixth game.
The four points were just a tonic for the Voss-less Blues; His only other win this season was coming over the line against Richmond in round one.
Unlike most coaching tenures, Voss never lost his players and many of them enjoyed the final under him. They remained closely loyal to their boss until the end. Newman learned of Voss’ resignation from the media. The news hit Newman hard, even though he was aware of the speculation about Voss’ future.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting this on Tuesday morning,” Newman said.
“I wasn’t aware of it and I knew there was some noise about his position, but I thought it would probably be a discussion later in the year. He obviously made a call-up, which was a selfless thing for him to do; he thought it was best for the football club to get rid of a few shackles, so he was very selfless for it.”
“Obviously it was nice to get the win for him and hopefully he’s sitting at home and taking some pride in the way we played because you can feel it’s been building for a while.”
Newman has spoken with Voss since his resignation and will remain in contact.
“I think he was moving house, which is always stressful, so I think he might be moving away,” Newman said. “He has been a great mentor to me both as a player and as a leader.”
The Bulldogs appeared to be the smoother side in the first three quarters but had no answer after Cripps pulled up another gear. It is their fifth defeat in six games and they continue a worrying dip in form that began at Easter when injuries began to bite. The defeat was compounded by a hamstring injury to winger Bailey Williams.
“I thought I was really pleased with the close games we were able to pull together and win,” Dogs coach Luke Beveridge said. “In this one, their efforts were high when they were close. You could say they were just a level above ours and that’s probably the most disappointing thing to hurt the players.”
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