Landing a place on an AFL list would be a dream come true for many, but a daunting one at that. Every aspect of your life would be set for drastic change: from your daily routine, to the food you eat and even the way you conduct yourself on social media.
Now imagine how young recruits must feel when their name is called in the AFL’s National Draft. At the age of just 18 they’re thrust into the media spotlight amid a combination of excitement, nerves and apprehension about the rollercoaster they’re about to board.
For an insight into what it’s like to embark on a career in the AFL we’ll be chatting to Carlton’s 2013 first round draft pick Patrick Cripps at intervals throughout this year.
Cripps grew up on a farm north of Geraldton in Western Australia. The middle of three boys to parents Brad and Cath, he excelled in maths and geography at school and loved life on the farm, but always held aspirations of playing our national game at the elite level.
In November last year, Cripps was the first name called by Carlton’s recruiting team at the National Draft. The big-bodied midfielder wasn’t on the Gold Coast with other top 20 hopefuls that night, but was in Perth with family and friends, fresh from sitting an exam.
Just days later he made the move to the other side of the country, landing in Melbourne the following Tuesday morning. Within the first hour of his arrival at Visy Park, Cripps fronted the cameras for his first media conference – and so began his AFL journey.
The first few months at Carlton were undoubtedly challenging for a teenager fresh from high school. Cripps faced a gruelling altitude training camp in Arizona coupled with a tough pre-season training regime, and along the way had to get to know a new team of 44 blokes.
Fast forward to April and the hard work paid off, when Cripps was named to make his debut in Carlton’s Round 4 clash with Melbourne at the MCG. While it was a match the Blues would perhaps rather forget, it was a day that will be forever etched in the young West Australian’s mind.
“It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind the last couple of months, but it’s been amazing to make my debut,” Cripps told carltonfc.com.au.
“Obviously you grow up as a kid wanting to play AFL and it’s really a dream come true that feeling when you run out onto the ground in front of 30-odd thousand fans for the first time.
“The stadium is unreal with how in close it is and the way the crowd just echoes around.
“It was just unreal – words can’t describe it.”
Fate would have it that Cripps’ parents had already been planning to visit Melbourne on the weekend of his first game. They were joined by his younger brother, grandmother and a host of friends at the MCG, to cheer on the young man who has been likened to Blues’ Brownlow medallist Diesel Williams.
Cripps finished with 17-possesions in his opening match, and while the result didn’t go Carlton’s way, the game offered a valuable learning experience for the new recruit.
“A lot of leadership was spoken about in the lead-up to the game,” Cripps said.
“I remember one time I didn’t put in a good enough defensive effort and Lachie Henderson came up to me and really gave me a good serving, and said that wasn’t good enough.
“So I think the leadership out there was good, the talk was good, but I think our skill execution was the main thing that let us down.
“It was certainly a step up from the VFL in terms of speed and intensity, and there were also stronger bodies around the contest so that was challenging.”
His efforts on debut saw Cripps earn another call-up the following week, for Carlton’s Round 5 match against the Western Bulldogs.
Patrick Cripps celebrates his first win as a Bluebagger. (Photo: Lachlan Cunningham/AFL Media)
This time 19-year-old only managed seven possessions before being substituted out of the game for Chris Judd in the third quarter. But he finally got to sing the club song, after the Blues came from behind to secure a 28-point win.
“It was amazing! It was my first win and the club’s first win of the year, so the atmosphere was electric,” Cripps said.
“The team was really up and about and it fantastic to sing the song – although it was pretty cold and I couldn’t really see because I had Gatorade in my eyes – but it was great.”
Although he’s back playing in the VFL for now, Cripps will no doubt factor in the thoughts of Carlton’s match committee again as the season progresses.
Playing with the Northern Blues, Cripps says, is an opportunity to hone his skills, while on the training track his goal is to build his fitness to an elite midfield level.
Stay tuned to carltonfc.com.au – we’ll catch up with Patrick Cripps again next month.
