The hard work and determination is paying off for Carlton young gun Patrick Cripps.
In a break-out year "Crippa" has been a shining light in the Blues’ midfield and the football community is taking notice, awarding him the AFL’s Rising Star Nomination in round four.
At the end of last year, the big-bodied midfielder sat down with dual Brownlow medallist Chris Judd to discuss his development. The pair agreed Cripps should aim to shed a few kilos.
“At the end of the year I sat down and had a brief chat with Juddy … in the off-season I just tried to drop my body fat,” Cripps told SEN on Friday.
“I dropped about three or four kilos just so I could run better.”
Identifying an area he needed to work on, the 20-year-old took the initiative in the off-season and organised to work with a sprint coach.
“One of my footy coaches in my junior days was a sprints coach and I got in contact with him when I went back in the off-season," Cripps said.
“I met up with him a couple of times a week to get things rolling."
In his second year at the Blues, Cripps is rooming with another Carlton young gun, first-year rookie Ciaran Byrne.
Cripps laughed saying it “took him a while” to understand the young Irishman.
“He’s all right now, but when another Irish bloke comes around and they start talking they just turn it up I think,” he joked.
