A really small variety of younger boys develop up and get to play footy on the highest degree.
For many of these males, it is a dream that is come true.
It takes distinctive expertise simply to get to the league — simply 0.2 per cent of teenage boys enjoying footy will make it to the AFL.
Even fewer are proficient and fortunate sufficient to be recognised by the umpires because the fairest and finest participant within the AFL.
Simply 90 males of the 13,172 gamers to don the boots in a sport of league soccer have received footy’s highest particular person honour — round 0.7 per cent of all gamers ever.
Earlier than Monday night time, solely 16 gamers throughout the primary century of the Brownlow Medal had carried out so greater than as soon as.
On Monday night time at 10:36pm, that unique membership grew by one member as Carlton’s Patrick Cripps turned the 2024 Brownlow Medallist.
The ABC’s political analyst Antony Inexperienced may need been tempted to name it just a little earlier, given how dominant the Carlton captain’s efficiency was within the rely.
Cripps recorded a whopping 45 votes throughout the 2024 season.
That is a transparent report for all customary seasons — excluding the 2 the place vote tallies had been doubled in 1976 and 1977 because of the introduction of two umpires.
Between 1940 and 2010 no participant tallied greater than 30 votes in a single season and, though 20 gamers have since racked up greater than the 30 votes in a season, Monday’s was the primary occasion of a person incomes greater than 40.
Cripps’s 45 votes — coming from 17 totally different video games — was greater than three golf equipment obtained throughout the course of your complete season.
The numbers of the night time are staggering, however extra attention-grabbing is how he put such a tremendous season collectively.
That is the story of Patrick Cripps’ record-breaking 12 months.
Dominating on discipline
Patrick Cripps has dominated opponents with a mixture of athleticism and guile. (Getty Photos: AFL Images/Michael Willson)
Typically what separates the nice from the nice is not uncooked expertise, athleticism or ability; that’ll solely get you thru the entrance door of most golf equipment.
What makes a superb participant nice is as an alternative one thing far tougher to faucet into. It is drive — the ambition to repeatedly enhance and get higher.
“I needed to go to work on my sport on the finish of final 12 months,” the now two-time medallist stated.
“I felt like there have been just a few areas I actually wanted to go to work on. I used to be shut out of the sport too many occasions by opposition.”
Hailing from Northampton in WA’s Wheat Belt, Cripps noticed first hand the significance of laborious work.
Success typically is not constructed in a single day — as an alternative it takes time and dedication.
As Cripps acknowledged, over the 12 months he has slowly advanced his sport.
He is change into extra dynamic and proactive — scoring extra and tackling much less.
Relative to his first Brownlow 12 months he is not solely successful extra clearances but additionally successful extra territory along with his ball use.
The addition of companions in crime akin to Sam Walsh and the defensive George Hewett allowed him to shift his strategy just a little.
“You possibly can then develop sure components of your sport, and I really feel like I am making an attempt to develop my exterior sport a bit extra, get on the tip of some extra handball receives, and use my energy greater than I did up to now,” Cripps stated earlier this 12 months.
This tough graft defines Cripps on a soccer discipline. No participant within the sport was higher at successful the contested ball than Carlton’s talisman this 12 months.
Cripps led the AFL in clearances per sport for the third time in his profession, and the primary time since 2019. He additionally ranked extremely for the way he influences his group hitting the scoreboard even when he is not instantly kicking at aim.
Cripps excels at corralling hit-outs from his rucks, his Carlton teammates typically defend area round their captain and let him go to work.
The 29-year-old has the scale, energy and pace to beat most opponents one on one, along with his large 195cm body constructed for exploiting even the smallest weaknesses in defenders.
Cripps additionally completed third for laborious ball will get throughout the 12 months: That is the place the ball is received below direct bodily stress.
He seemingly has a radar for anticipating when contact is about to come back, and how you can finest keep away from the complete brunt of it, deploying sufficient energy to combat his method by most preliminary embraces to at the least give his group an opportunity at retaining possession.
One of many wrinkles that Cripps added to his sport this 12 months was his capacity within the ruck itself.
He attended extra ruck contests than ever earlier than, ending within the prime 20 for “seize and go” balls received instantly from a ruck contest. He is the one non-ruck (or typical tall) close to the highest finish of the stat — a testomony to his malleability on the sphere.
That is the type of in-and-under, eye-catching work that the umpires appear more and more prepared to reward.
There’s different components of his sport that additionally improved this 12 months. Cripps managed 17 targets on the season — simply wanting his private report of 20 from 2022, regardless of spending much less time up ahead, recording the fewest quantity photographs on aim and marks inside 50 than in recent times.
As a substitute, his accuracy when capturing for aim was considerably up on earlier years. Cripps additionally managed to realize extra territory along with his disposals than ever earlier than whereas turning it over lower than in his different Brownlow 12 months of 2022.
This 12 months was not only a continuation of Cripps’s wonderful profession so far, however an enchancment on seasons’ previous.
On the lookout for extra
Patrick Cripps needs extra from the Blues in future seasons. (Getty Photos: AFL Images/Michael Willson)
After such a report setting season, many are already tipping Cripps so as to add a 3rd Brownlow round his neck sooner or later.
At 29 years outdated the West Australian has loads extra time to shine.
However regardless of the person acclaim, Cripps hinted in the course of the 12 months that his most vital footballing problem will probably be to steer Carlton to the promised land of a premiership.
“Undoubtedly enjoying within the finals sequence final 12 months was one of the best,” Cripps instructed the media earlier this 12 months.
“Particular person stuff is a reward for laborious work, however I feel if you happen to discuss to any AFL participant, the reward and fulfilment come from group success.”
This marketing campaign the Blues fell two weeks wanting their stellar 2023 season. It was a big step again from the place they needed to be this 12 months.
His hometown facet, Northampton Rams, tasted that premiership success for the primary time in nearly 20 years final season, led by former AFL stars Josh Kennedy and Harry Taylor.
Additionally in that Northampton facet was Cripps’s brother, Josh.
That success is the place Cripps desperately needs the Blues to be.
Given his unbelievable season in 2024, it is clear that Cripps will maintain working and pushing till they attain that mark.
