SHE’S THE mother of a Brownlow Medal winner and a four-time John Nicholls Medallist, but Cath Cripps is more proud of who her son Patrick is as a person.
Cath has had a whirlwind month with her son - ‘Paddy’, as she calls him - claiming the AFL’s highest individual honour a fortnight ago and then entered Carlton’s history books on Friday night.
Cath is a mother of three sons, with Patrick being her middle child. Saying he’s been a natural leader his entire life, she’s not surprised with how he now leads the group at the Carlton Football Club.
“He’s always been a natural leader, from the first time he did anything: whether it was school or sport, he showed natural leadership skills,” Cath said.
“I think it’s an intrinsic thing that he’s got, but he’s also worked really hard on it to become the leader he is now and he’s a leader of men, which is fantastic and I’m really proud of him for that.”
Attending both award ceremonies with her husband Brad and youngest son Josh, the family has had the surreal experience of championing Patrick through some of his most rewarding moments.
While the midfield gun has been adamant that the individual awards weren’t his goal, there’s no denying that he has brought a mountain of joy to his family, his Club and his hometown of Northampton.
Cath and Brad are still residents of Northampton. When they’re not visiting Patrick in Melbourne, Cath is surrounded by a whole town that shares in his successes, not least on Brownlow Medal night.
“We’re an incredible town, it’s really close knit,” she said.
“We went through a cyclone 18 months ago, which really devastated the town and further out, including our farm. You see people in the last week and what Paddy’s Brownlow win has done for them is incredible.
“Like Paddy said: ‘I made my hometown proud’ and I’m one of those hometown people.
“I feel extremely proud and extremely humbled.”
Having watched her son go through some incredibly tough times through his footy journey, from injury to years deprived of success, Cath says she can now see the light at the end of the tunnel for Carlton – and that Patrick is a completely different person because of it.
Mentioning the moment he almost ‘gave up’ in 2019 because of the mental toll during his Brownlow speech, Carlton’s captain pushed through to come out the other side a more resilient leader.
On the group and the Club, Cath is pleased that Patrick has such a great support system around him at IKON Park, and that every single person embraces her family.
“They’re just a great group of boys: we feel very honoured and privileged that they come up and give us a hug. I would also say that to the wider support staff of Carlton and the parents, it’s a pretty good club,” she said.
“I don’t know any other club but I feel like we’re going places and that it’s very exciting.”
Cath also mentioned the love she has for her good friend Annabel Docherty (mother of Sam).
While pleased that Patrick took home his fourth John Nicholls Medal, she admitted she would’ve been just as proud if Sam Docherty had finished on top as well, referencing the closeness that the families share through their time at the Club.
“I do want to shout out to my good friend Annabel Docherty, who has had a really tough year. We all know what Sam has gone through and it would’ve meant just as much to me if Sam had’ve won this award,” she said.
“He’s just an incredible person and Annabel is an incredible person and their whole family.”
With big and better things promising to come for Patrick in his career, Cath had one thing to say about her second son on the eve of his achievements.
“I feel excited for him and I feel proud of him. I feel more proud for the person he is and the way he spoke, especially at the Brownlow — that was really special.”
