Carlton’s fadeouts will bury Voss. But the Blues and Cripps are chained to each other

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In 2021, Patrick Cripps could have sought a move to West Coast or Fremantle as a free agent and returned to his home state. He chose to stay, signing a sizeable six-year contract that bound him to Carlton and made him an adored figure to the club’s vast, desperate following.

Judged on individual metrics, Cripps made the right call. He won Brownlow medals in 2022 and 2024, and doubtless has earned a few dollars more from the connections he garnered at a club with the most potent business network in the competition.

Today, as Carlton are mired in the bottom four and has repeatedly failed to hold leads in the second halves, the relationship between the Blues and their skipper is one that no longer benefits both parties as it did.

Once, Cripps was Carlton’s Atlas, the bearer of an astonishing burden. Or, he was their beacon.

Now, as the skipper’s output has declined and the game has moved decisively towards players with quick feet and slick disposal/decision-making - and away from pure extractors - the relationship between Cripps and the Blues is more akin to a pair of........

© The Sydney Morning Herald