What’s up with Cripps?

[Mr_Plow]

Indeed, it has gotten to the point that he is now arguably making us worse by being out there, notwithstanding the pointless damage he is doing to his body.

Is he really going to play again in 5 days? Would be absurd.

 

[Stamos]

Indeed, it has gotten to the point that he is now arguably making us worse by being out there, notwithstanding the pointless damage he is doing to his body.

Is he really going to play again in 5 days? Would be absurd.

If he lines up on Tuesday night, people need to be sacked.

 

[juzz88]

If he lines up on Tuesday night, people need to be sacked.

I'd rest him for the Adelaide game too.

I wouldn't be against giving him a pat on the back for his efforts this year and sending him home early, for that matter.

 

[choo]

Worst on ground

 

[Navy_Blue91]

Forget his game.. We all have a poor one from time to time.. But how many times did he play for the free kick tonight? He ain't leading by example.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Forget his game.. We all have a poor one from time to time.. But how many times did he play for the free kick tonight? He ain't leading by example.

He's had several poor games this year. He is not even in the 50 best players for the season.

If I had to hazard a guess for our B&F, I'd have Weitering, Walsh, Curnow, Docherty, Jones, Plowman ahead of him. It will be interesting to see what the coaches are looking at.

 

[I bleed Blue]

Injured? Personal issue? Pressure of captaincy (esspecially through these weird times) too much?

Who knows whats caused the form drop off.

For the last couple of years hes been spoken about as the best player in the league etc.

Certainly huge boots to fill for the club.

Must be frustrating for Teague. If Cripps was playing to his usual standard I dare say we would have 1 or 2 more wins right now.

 

[Metalcrusher]

He has to stop playing for free kicks .. its starting to grate on me

 

[athensblue]

All stars play with injuries
Once they cross the line they are ready to go
Crippa has just lost it
For all our sakes, hope he gets it back next year.
Real Cripps and CC will go a long way to getting this club up again

 

[sparkyblue]

I'm not even quite sure what Cripps' role is supposed to be right now. He's basically a slow, one dimensional inside mid, extract via handball, rinse and repeat type who can't or won't chase. He's a great overhead mark, but has kicking problems. We also don't have enough speed or quality in the side to cover for his deficiencies either, so if the opponents get outside, we're toast. It looks to me like opposing coaches have our midfield setup well and truly worked out.

 

[Coona Blues]

He's had several poor games this year. He is not even in the 50 best players for the season.

If I had to hazard a guess for our B&F, I'd have Weitering, Walsh, Curnow, Docherty, Jones, Plowman ahead of him. It will be interesting to see what the coaches are looking at.

Injured? Personal issue? Pressure of captaincy (esspecially through these weird times) too much?

Who knows whats caused the form drop off.

For the last couple of years hes been spoken about as the best player in the league etc.

Certainly huge boots to fill for the club.

Must be frustrating for Teague. If Cripps was playing to his usual standard I dare say we would have 1 or 2 more wins right now.

The two bolded sentences are just so representative of the issues facing Crippa and the club.

I get it, he frustrates me too, but "frustrating for Teague"? Teague is the one "loyally" sending out an injured leader, prepared to put
heart, soul and most relevant, body on the line for his mates, the club and an ideal. The media are kindly advising some stark percentages
of Cripps' time on ball. It is not sustainable. Teague, as coach has the responsiblity to best utilise his "troops" for the benefit of the team,
and to a degree the players themselves.

Ratten was a capable coach, but failed because he placed far too much emphasis and reliance on his stars to lead the way week after week.
Players like Murphy were offensive weapons and were never compelled to defend. That was for the foot soldiers. I am seeing far too many
similarities with Teaguey's efforts as our coach. He is a capable and caring bloke, but way too keen to keep going to the same bloody well.
Many of our youngsters are suffering developmentally because of the ridiculous insistence on the likes of LOB and Stocker being flawless.
They are footballers and thrive on the contest. Cripps is no different, but has been seduced by media beat up and his own personal desires.
Crippa wants to emulate Fyfe and Dangerfield, to be all things, the line breaker, the goal kicker, THE MAN. He was drafted as "the extractor"
that should be his prime role, to attend the stoppages to feed his link and outside players and distributors. Crippa has the ability to make the
team better, to bring his mates in to the game. That is what makes him a leader.

As for "not even in the best 50 players for the season", what a bloody expectation, particularly coming from a senior figure on this board. The
bloke is carrying multiple injuries as well as some considerable emotional baggage from the suffering of a loved one, from whom he is separated
by the hubs which demand so much from our players. The bloke needs some on field guidance, some off field consideration, but mostly, he just
needs a break.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

As for "not even in the best 50 players for the season", what a bloody expectation, particularly coming from a senior figure on this board. The
bloke is carrying multiple injuries as well as some considerable emotional baggage from the suffering of a loved one, from whom he is separated
by the hubs which demand so much from our players. The bloke needs some on field guidance, some off field consideration, but mostly, he just
needs a break.

I don't like how I can't have an opinion that not everyone likes or agrees with because I'm a senior figure on this board.

I don't think I'm wrong that he isn't in the top 50 players this year. As for it being an expectation, well yeah ... he's an AA player who has been touted as being possibly the best player in the game prior to this season.

Re injuries ... I also said he shouldn't be playing if injured and the results bear that out.

Re hub life ... sure but every player in the AFL is in the same boat. Some have gone home. Maybe he should have too. The results bear that out as well.

Finally, my comment was made in response to a poster saying a player is entitled to a bad game every now and then. My response is that it is more than every now and then.

I'm not critical of Cripps. I'm critical that nothing is changing. Either he is injured and rested or he is fit enough to play. We don't need Crippa's presence in the side to inspire his teammates, even if he is struggling. His teammates are inspired by him leading by example in terms of the way he plays. If anything, his form and health would have the opposite effect on his teammates. Cripps can hardly look at his troops and be disappointed about their efforts when he is struggling himself. Rest him, and bring a new steel into the side as his teammates know they have to step up in his absence.

It actually pains me to see Crippa like this. He's better than that. I know the club don't want to deprive him of some success so they have allowed it to continue, and Cripps himself, would never opt to miss a game if he could still walk. We are killing the golden goose here.

 

[T2B_]

Clearly not right mentally and physically, possibly the latter feeding into the former as well.

Look, we shouldn't forget how good he used to be. Some posts make it sound like he's only effective because he's an unusually big midfielder, which I would not agree with. He absolutely has talent and as Jimmae said, he can be surprisingly dynamic and for his size can have some surprising burst when he's right.

He's a shadow of what he can be, and indeed, probably should not be playing right now.

 

[thylacine60]

it shits me to tears when the club discloses at the end of the season that he has been carrying this or that and will be going in for surgery asap - fix him now!

 

[Benaly28]

I think the captaincy is an issue.Just go with Doc and let him play.

I think he’s struggling mentally.


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[The Fantom]

I think the captaincy is an issue.Just go with Doc and let him play.

I think he’s struggling mentally.


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Was the captaincy a burden last year, when he was voted MVP, made All Australian and won his 3rd BnF? I think not.

He’s just carrying too many injuries and it’s taking its toll. He’ll be back bigger and better next year. I wouldn’t complain if they ruled him for the last 3 games.

 

[Navy_Blue91]

Was the captaincy a burden last year, when he was voted MVP, made All Australian and won his 3rd BnF? I think not.

He’s just carrying too many injuries and it’s taking its toll. He’ll be back bigger and better next year. I wouldn’t complain if they ruled him for the last 3 games.

Stop making an excuse for his poor performances. Injured or not, if he is putting on the jumper he is clearly fit enough to play. He is the nucleus of our midfield at the moment he is playing like a taller Brock McLean.

 

[The Fantom]

Stop making an excuse for his poor performances. Injured or not, if he is putting on the jumper he is clearly fit enough to play. He is the nucleus of our midfield at the moment he is playing like a taller Brock McLean.

Ok yep, he’s not playing well, that’s obvious. So what do you put it down to?

 

[BigBreakfast]

Im not buying into the captaincy debate. Internal structures know best, I do know he has been ineffective in his desision making and finishing capacity

Give him a break, tidy up his body and who knows? I feel like the pace of the modern game hurts him unless we load up with outside run and skill. Kid is too young to be compared to past legends, allow him the space to learn, fail and grow,

 

[thylacine60]

Stop making an excuse for his poor performances. Injured or not, if he is putting on the jumper he is clearly fit enough to play. He is the nucleus of our midfield at the moment he is playing like a taller Brock McLean.

carries the team for 5 years, has a down patch through injury or exhaustion (or both) wants to keep playing through it and that's the best you have? have a look at yourself........

 

[BigBreakfast]

Stop making an excuse for his poor performances. Injured or not, if he is putting on the jumper he is clearly fit enough to play. He is the nucleus of our midfield at the moment he is playing like a taller Brock McLean.

There is a reason you are a debutant. No need to explain why you are targeting a legend at the low end of the spectrum for him. Easy pickings. Bleeds blue, as opposed to... 91.

 

[Opine]

I think the captaincy is an issue.Just go with Doc and let him play.

I think he’s struggling mentally.


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I thought so too, but I no longer believe that’s a direct issue. He’s a natural leader, so regardless, if they remove his formal title he’s still going to be captain and feel the same stresses; even if informally. He’s just got to work through it, and I reckon part of doing so is to learn that you can’t carry it all for all time. Retiring him for the season forces him to learn to let others carry some load; and get his body right.

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

I just hope he has someone like Judd mentioning him through this form slump, DT is a great coach but he has never experienced the pressure and expectation of being the supposed best player in the comp... same with our assistant Stanton, Barker etc.

 

[azlou]

Needs to rest heal up and take Fev up on his offer to work on goal kicking in the off season
Fev was the best kick the club ever had beautiful action he seams to have matured a bit
I think Fev would love working with Cripps and give something back to the club
Add two goals resting forward to any of his games this year changes everything
I think Fev would do it for minimum chips for fun and publicity and duty soft cap wouldn’t be affected great resource
Cripps as resting tall would give the team a lot of flexibility turning a liability into a huge asset
Please no more lazy shots for goal in training train as you play ALWAYS have someone on the mark
Try kicking round the key in basketball keep changing angle and distance
Start at 10 meters out then 15,20,30,40,50 same angle I’ve never seen the team do any real training on kicking for goal it’s all a big laugh before and after a session with no one standing the mark

 

[RPCB]

Let’s drop a 25 year old Patrick Cripps and remove the captaincy from him 12 months out from the end of his current contract when there is “Go home“ risk attached with him. Way to think outside the box, gang.