ON THE eve of his 150th game, Patrick Cripps has had some time to reflect on his journey so far. 

Coming to Melbourne from rural Western Australia and breaking his leg early in his career, it’s surreal for the captain to look at where he is now and how he got there. 

Sitting in the top four for the first time in his career, Cripps said his focus is entirely on Thursday night’s game against Richmond.

With family and friends flying over to support the captain in his milestone game, Cripps hopes it can be a weekend of celebration for all. 

“I probably didn’t dream I’d play 150 [games] when I started,” he said.  

“Over the last few days I’ve reflected a little bit on the journey so far. It's a massive milestone when you think about it, but at the same time, I’ve got so much left in me. 

“I suppose it's good to tick it off, but my sole focus is on Thursday night which is the exciting part.

“I've got a lot of family coming over, it's always good to have them over. They've been in my corner the whole time and I’ve got Friday and Saturday to celebrate with them, hopefully that’s a win.”

This week, Cripps has been open with his struggles over the journey, ultimately deciding that they’ve helped him grow as a person, a player and a captain of the Club. 

The one thing he can say is that he wouldn’t change his path for anything, taking each challenge as an opportunity to put himself to the test and see what the outcome is. 

“I wouldn’t change it: I’ve listened to a fair few boys speak over the last six to eight months and they all said they wouldn't change it at all and I agree with them,” he said. 

“I’ve grown a lot as a person through some of those tough times and one thing I've been big on is just having a level of optimism and hope and positivity around the place.

“When there are tough times, you’ve got to keep the group together and that's one thing I'm really proud of: the group's really stuck together and we’re starting to see the hard work pay off.” 

Ever the optimist, Cripps is intent on making his "next 150 games" more fruitful than the first, having learnt so much over his journey so far. 

Determined to ensure the Blues will play their best footy in the back half of the year, Cripps is not taking anything for granted as his side continues to round out their game and produce results under AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss.

“I'm pretty excited for the next 150 [games] and I think they’ll be a bit more successful than the first ones,” he said. 

“Winning games of footy is bloody hard and I haven’t won a lot in my first 150, but the joy on guys' faces after games is so special and that's what footy is all about – no matter how you win or who you beat, you never take winning for granted. 

“We feel like we’re going to play our best footy in the back-end of the year and every week we talk about ways to improve, we have from the start of the season: there's a lot of hope.” 

Cripps has always focused on having an incredibly strong mindset when it comes to football, labelling it "the most important part of the game".

As a leader, he's definitive in how he wants his side to go about their mental preparation and commitment to footy, doing the best to block out any external noise in the process.

“It's not necessarily training harder, it’s more just the perspective of everything," he said.

“You’ve got to focus on what's important to you, what drives you and try to block out as much of the external noise as you can. and also have a different perspective on it.” 

“With social media these days, you get feedback every day and a lot of them don’t understand you as a person or even the game.

"You can't fully block it out because it’s there and all these young guys are on social media, that’s a part of the way of the world. But finding what your role is, what’s important, keep working on the process of getting good habits, staying upbeat and doing that long enough so things will go your way.” 

In terms of preparing for a strong opponent and rival tomorrow night, Cripps said he hopes the Tigers are at full strength, because he relishes the challenge of coming up against a top side. 

Having a similar narrative to the Blues in coming from the bottom to build something special, Cripps said he admires the way Richmond goes about it, and can’t wait to put themselves to the test as his side did in Round 1.

“I think Richmond have got a full book tomorrow and as a competitor, you always want to play the best with a full strength team,” he said. 

“I’ve got so much respect for them as a team, what they’ve done over the last five years and even before that where they came from: it’s something we look at and aspire to be like. 

“I love playing Richmond and I look forward to the contest – I know they’ll play their best and we’ll play ours, so we’re ready to go.”