‘Step up and dig in': Skipper's urgent ask

Perth Now

13 hours ago

Carlton captain Patrick Cripps says he's about to find out who among his teammates will 'step up and dig in' amid a horror on-field run that moved one former player to suggest the Blues could consider trading the skipper.
A day after Carlton president Rob Priestley committed to keeping coach Michael Voss in the chair until the end of the season, Cripps said his job included trying to block the 'external' noise that is growing louder by the day in the wake of last week's horror loss to Port Adelaide.
Former Hawthorn premiership star Jordan Lewis floated the idea that Cripps, as well as star forward Charlie Curnow, could provide the Blues value on the trade market.
Cripps conceded times were indeed dark at the moment but in a new vodcast said staying positive, and creating 'energy', was as much as he could do in order to keep the wheels turning.
'The thing I really try to focus on as well with the other leaders is making sure we're all on the same page but also trying to keep the energy high … as much as you can, you've got to try and block the external out and it can be loud,' Cripps told the new vodcast On The Inside. Patrick Cripps and Tom Mitchell are part of the On The Inside vodcast. Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos Credit: Supplied
'Like for the moment, for us, it's really loud on the outside, so (it's about) how you can keep eyes in and really control and live the standards but also create the energy.'
Crisis is not new to Carlton, or Cripps, who has watched two coaches be sacked since 2019 before Voss was installed, taking the Blues all the way to the preliminary final in 2023 and an elimination final in 2024.
But the wheels have fallen off this season, and things don't get easier with a clash against ladder leaders Collingwood on Friday night followed by a match against reigning premiers Brisbane.
With the walls closing in, Cripps said now was the time he would find out a lot of about himself as a leader and his teammates' capacity to come through it all.
'You find out a lot about yourself, I reckon, (in) these times, not only as a player but as a leader, but also (about) guys around you, the ones that really want to step up and dig in versus, like I said before, the ones that want to step away,' he said in the sit-down with fellow Brownlow medallists Tom Mitchell and Lachie Neale.
'But I feel like we've got the right group of people at the club to really band together and stick together.
'And we've got your (Mitchell's) mob this week, mate, so it's always a big clash, big rivalry, which usually brings out the best in both sides.'
Carlton has slumped to 11th on the ladder with a 6-9 win-loss record.