Carlton defender Nic Newman admires Patrick Cripps as the Blues captain aims for his second Brownlow Medal in three seasons. Cripps, who is having a standout season compared to his 2022 campaign when he won the prestigious AFL award, delivered a remarkable performance with 40 possessions and 14 clearances in Carlton’s dominant 61-point victory over Richmond at the MCG on Sunday.
Cripps is currently second favourite for the Brownlow, trailing only Collingwood’s Nick Daicos. After enduring years of challenges with the team, Cripps is now reaping the rewards as Carlton aims to build on last year’s breakthrough preliminary final appearance.
“He’s quite a marvel to watch – sometimes from half-back, you can just admire him and ‘Walshy’ (Sam Walsh) working their magic at the center clearances, and as a defender, it’s great to see them running out and kicking goals,” Newman remarked on Tuesday.
“It’s no secret, if you followed him for a week and saw how he prepares and the effort he puts in, he gets everything he deserves, so it’s fantastic to see him performing so well.”
Carlton is preparing for a rematch against GWS at Engie Stadium on Saturday, having defeated the Giants by 19 points earlier in the season when GWS was seen as premiership contenders.
“Footy changes rapidly; within a few weeks, the whole story can flip,” Newman acknowledged. “As a club, we’re doing a good job staying focused on what’s right in front of us rather than looking too far ahead.”
Newman has recently handled the task of marking GWS captain Toby Greene, but remained noncommittal about whether he would take on that role again.
“I’m not sure who will be assigned to Greene this time, but we’ll all have our moments against him,” Newman stated.
Carlton hopes defender Jordan Boyd can join the trip to Sydney after serving a one-game suspension for an incident with Richmond’s Rhyan Mansell. Boyd contested the ban at the tribunal on Tuesday night.