“FOOTY has got a funny way of teaching you the hard way sometimes.”

While Patrick Cripps wishes he and his side were still in the race, he's aware - somewhere, deep down - that the lessons learned come the end of the season will be valuable going forward. Just don’t tell him that right now.

The Carlton captain was at his inspirational best in what turned out to be the final game of the season for the Blues, who fell by a solitary point to the old enemy on Sunday.

Interviewed for the first time in the shadows of the Round 23 clash, Cripps detailed the emotion in the rooms - as well as what followed in the ensuing days - once their 2022 fate was established.

“The first day was a bit of shock. Every day gets a little bit easier… there are a lot of lessons to learn and it will be something to look back on: it’s just hard to see it like that at the moment,” Cripps told Carlton Media.

“It’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve been in the position to have that chance. The frustrating thing was I felt we played a really strong brand of footy against the Pies but couldn’t quite get over the line.

“These experiences can go one of two ways. You can either be consumed by it and be down for a long time, or you can take the lessons, grow and use them as motivation. That’s what this group will do.”

For many in the football world, it would’ve been easy to get consumed in the sheer numbers: in their minds, a finals berth would’ve been a tick - particularly given the position the Blues found themselves in - while anything else would’ve been a cross.

There’s no doubt that the inability to close out the season and a seal a spot in September is a sore point for most involved, Cripps featuring somewhere right near the top of that list that are feeling it more than most.

But he said there would be the chance to take a deep breath and analyse the strides made by the football club, particularly over the last 12 months given where the team found itself at this time last year.

“There’s been a massive growth: that’s the positive side. The frustrating part is I think if we got to a final, we would’ve done some damage — I really believe that,” he said.

“At the same time, things aren’t given to you in life and you’ve got to earn everything you get… the ladder doesn’t reflect it now, but a lot of belief has been grown in this group over the last 12 months especially. That’s the mindset… it’s been a massive 12 months.

“As much growth as we had as a group this year, we didn’t quite get there and you can’t change it. That’s what you’ve got to use as motivation going forward.”

Among the big-ticket items which Cripps wanted to address was the collective emotion of the supporter base, who turned up to support their team like no other this season. Come the end of the home-and-away campaign, Carlton’s home attendances were No.1 in the competition.

You just need to look at Cripps’ goal celebrations - there were 20 to celebrate this season, a career high - to show that he shares a connection with those over the fence.

For the now three-time All Australian who stepped into the football club nine years ago, he knows what he’s feeling right now is being reciprocated by those who have represented the Navy Blue from day dot.

“The fans have been with us. They've been here a lot longer than us,” he said.

"We get drafted to the Club and get entrenched in it. But some of these fans, it’s in their blood.

"It’s great to see the passion behind it… I know they’ll keep coming.”

For Cripps now, it’s a case of reflecting, resetting and regenerating, even though it came quite a few weeks sooner than he would’ve wished.

It was a message consistent with AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss’ final words to the playing group following the culmination of the season.

“He’s pretty level with it all. He’s got a lot of experience from not only his stuff, but his experience with the coaches he had and the situations he’s been in,” he said.

“The biggest one is how you shape what’s gone on in your mind and how we can get better… make sure that motivation gets back and find ways to get better as an individual and as a team.”