25, Patrick Cripps and Carlton Blues have always walked arm in arm.
Seven years ago, Blues traveled across the continent to choose Cripps in the first selection in the 2013 AFL National Draft. Since then, the co-captain, Patrick Cripps, hasn’t loosened his winning streak despite the injuries. In return, the chief of the Carlton football department, Brad Lloyd vows to protect Cripps following the opposition’s stoppage ploys over the club’s best ball hunter.
Committed Player for Carlton Blues
Amidst the Blues victory at Gabba, the fans, as well as club officials, couldn’t keep their eyes off the North Melbourne players heaving Cripps at the stoppages. Jed Anderson and Shaun Higgins hindered Cripps’ defensive patch that the skipper couldn’t get the ball, and the AFL umpiring didn’t even offer him free-kicks. According to the Champion Data statistics, Cripps has recorded most of the scores from free-kicks in the AFL.
Hence, Brad Lloyd didn’t conceal the agenda with the AFL umpiring department though Blues recorded a seven-point win at the Gabba in July.
“One of the reasons we love watching (Marcus) Bontempelli and Patty Cripps for us is because they’re ball-hunters and the way they play”
“You just like to see those guys get a really good run at the footy without being impeded.”
“When players take their eye off the contest and just stare straight at that type of player, those bear hugs, where they wrap their arms around, they’re the things we’ve got to watch.”
“We have pretty regular contact with the umpiring department and they’re pretty good to deal with … we’ll continue to have those conversations.”
Lloyd was determined to resolve the unfair treatment of Cripps with the AFL’s umpiring department.
Yeah, we’ll have a chat with them, yeah.”
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Carlton coach David Teague is also familiar that Cripps regularly confronts the opposition stoppage acts; it isn’t new for the co-skipper, that’s how he garners score for Blues for years.
“He keeps hunting the ball and attacking and taking the game on. So to his credit he keeps competing for us and that’s what we need.”
Back n 2013, Blues was in awe of Cripps, who was an impeccable player Under 18 Championships against South Australia. Carlton’s National Recruiting Manager Shane Rogers promptly announced his name on Fox Footy. On the same hand, he was pretty happy to be part of Carlton, whom he had scrutinized since the early days.
“I’ve followed the AFL pretty closely, and I know that Carlton has such a proud tradition and history. I have always liked the Blues, and I’m just so rapt to be given an opportunity at one of the League’s biggest clubs.”
Besides AFL, He is a Responsible Partner
Being one of the exceptional hunters in the AFL, Cripps is reflecting his decisions on post graduating in psychology for the sake of his partner, Monique Fontana.
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Recently, she opened up about her obsessive-compulsive disorder, which arose from her fearful circumstances from airplanes and malignant cancer stemmed from her sister. Again, she developed a sinister impulse that makes her vomit at least one of her meals. However, Fontana has been accommodating mental health issues on the support of Carlton co-captain, Patrick Cripps. Locked within a COVID-19 pandemic, Cripps and his girlfriend Monique Fontana meditate and hold up spiritual training together.
Cripps stood by her side, while she coped with perils of mental illness from OCD to sinister impulse. He was considerate enough to send her a teddy bear, console her with an embrace, and preach her breath during anxiety. Fontana summoned him a ‘responsible partner’ who puts on a courageous face and holds up everything together.
