Blues breakdown: Could Patrick Cripps backflip on Carlton and opt for free agency?

Five years ago, the talks at Carlton were about hope on the horizon. But today, those promises are still not even close to being fulfilled.

Chris Cavanagh

8 min read

June 8, 2021 - 1:30PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Jack Newnes looks forlorn following the Blues’ loss. Picture: Getty Images

AFL

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You couldn’t blame Patrick Cripps if he was to suddenly have second thoughts.

It seems a formality that the loyal and committed Carlton co-captain will turn his back on free agency this year and sign a new long-term contract extension to remain at Princes Park until at least age 30.

Cripps said as much as recently as Friday, when he reiterated that himself and the Blues were “on the same page” over a new deal which would “sort itself out soon”.

However, Cripps still hasn’t officially put pen to paper on that deal and those comments were made before a horror loss to a depleted West Coast on Sunday which renders 2021 another wasted campaign for the Blues.

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If you hadn’t already, you can put a line through Carlton this season.

As it heads into the bye at 4-8, it is bye, bye Blues.

Sitting three games outside the top-eight, David Teague’s side would need to win eight – if not nine – of its last 10 games to sneak into September.

That’s not going to happen.

And Cripps must be feeling the weight on his shoulders as he again tries to carry a team that continues to have a familiar problem – too many passengers.

Jack Newnes looks forlorn following the Blues’ loss. Picture: Getty Images

Cripps and fellow onballer Sam Walsh give their all week-in, week-out and bookends Harry McKay and Jacob Weitering have had consistent seasons.

But the same can’t be said about a lot of other Blues, who often appear all too happy to leave too much to too few.

“We had too many players that didn’t get the job done,” Teague said after the 22-point loss to West Coast.

“We had too many players that didn’t execute their role or execute a skill at the right times and then we got beaten in the contest. You can’t win the contest over the whole field with only a couple of guys.

“We needed more guys to step up and crack in and compete and West Coast beat us in that area convincingly.”

Carlton was not going to get a better chance than it got to end a losing streak against the Eagles that dates back to Round 6, 2014.

West Coast was missing arguably five of its eight most important players in Luke Shuey (hamstring), Jeremy McGovern (knee), Josh Kennedy (soreness), Tim Kelly (knee) and Oscar Allen (concussion).

Between those five players, there are 756 games of AFL experience.

In their place were five players who each had less than 10 games of experience.

Carlton simply had no excuses.

Weitering did his job down back holding Jack Darling to a single goal.

Yet, Carlton’s leaky defence still managed to concede 95 points – on trend after averaging 91 points against in the previous four weeks and entering the round ranked 14th for scores against.

Blues coach David Teague says his team simply isn’t good enough. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

West Coast moved the ball with ease from end-to-end in the opening minutes of the game and were granted a gift in the third quarter when Nic Newman comically kicked the ball into West Coast’s Andrew Gaff in the goalsquare and Liam Ryan picked it up and snapped a goal.

In many ways, it summed up the dirty day.

“I thought they got through us early and scored some easy ones the way they did,” Teague said.

“They smashed us in the contest in that second quarter, they got all the clearances, got it in their half and it makes it hard to defend when the ball’s down in your back half for too long. But they did get a few easy ones, they marked the ball, they used it well.

“We gave them one in the goalsquare. Little ones like that, it’s very hard to defend when you turn the ball over in the goalsquare.”

Spearheaded by stand-in captain and dynamic ruckman Nic Naitanui, West Coast dominated the clearances 37-24, won the contested possessions 136-111 and finished on top in the tackle count 49-43.

The Eagles simply wanted the four points more – and got them.

The Eagles had too much fight for the Blues. Picture: Getty Images

WHERE ARE THE SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT?

It’s been more than five years since the talk of “green shoots” emerging at Princes Park.

But the Blues do not look substantially closer to ending a finals drought that dates back to 2013 – the year before Cripps made his debut.

Carlton’s biggest loss this year has been 28 points, which is a big improvement on some of the losses that came during the dark days of a two-win 2018.

But respectable losses are wearing thin among Carlton fans and some of the development of individuals seems to have stalled this season.

“We haven’t improved as much as we would have liked so that’s a challenge,” Teague said.

“Right now, I don’t think we’re playing with a lot of confidence and belief. They’re training hard so I think that will turn at some stage.

“But as a collective and as a group, we probably haven’t improved and you can tell by the results. We’re not getting the results that we feel that we should be able to do if we played more consistent football.”

The Blues’ lax defensive efforts at times and skill errors are puzzling, especially given this is a list that contains 22 top-30 draft picks.

Teague will continue to come under the microscope, but the players, too, have to take some responsibility and decide which direction they want to head as a group.

“The fact that we’re in all these games and we have periods where we have our run-ons, it sort of holds up,” Teague said of his game style.

“But it is something that we’ll continue to look at and you’re slightly tweaking all the time and you’re learning from your own performances and other performances.

“But today my feel was around our ability to execute some of the basics – finishing, marks, hitting kicks, defending drop of the ball.

“I thought it was a little bit more about being able to execute the fundamentals and that’s something that as coaches we’ll work really hard with our players.”

A dejected Matt Cottrell during the Blues’ loss to West Coast. Picture: Getty Images

WALSH CONTINUES TO DAZZLE

Amid a disappointing season for Carlton as a team, midfielder Sam Walsh could not have been any more spectacular.

Walsh does not turn 21 years old until next month, but is as consistent a third-year, 51-game player as you will ever see.

Against the Eagles on Sunday, the midfielder racked up 30 disposals along with 11 marks, four clearances, eight score involvements and one goal.

His 124 KFC SuperCoach ranking points left him behind only West Coast forward Liam Ryan as the second-ranked player on the ground.

Remarkably, it was the eighth time in 12 games this season that Walsh had recorded 30 or more disposals in a match.

He is as tough as nails, has composure beyond his years and rarely wastes the football.

Clearly Carlton’s top-ranked player this season, Walsh has unquestionably been a shining light in a season that has seen many of his teammates struggle to similarly live up to expectations

The dejected Blues after another loss in a winnable clash. Picture: Getty Images

Harry McKay was subbed out after his head crashed into the SCG turf. Picture: Getty Images

‘WE’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH’: TEAGUE’S DAMNING BLUE CALL

A deflated Carlton coach David Teague has conceded finals are the last thing on his mind after the Blues produced another frustrating performance against a depleted West Coast.

Having maintained an upbeat tone in recent weeks around playing finals football this year, the Blues all but ruled themselves out of the race to September with a 22-point loss to the Eagles at the SCG.

The defeat leaves Carlton three games outside the top-eight.

It was a familiar story for the Blues, who had their opportunities but missed easy shots in front of goal, coughed up costly turnovers in the back half and too often allowed West Coast to transition through the middle of the ground with ease.

Sam Walsh (30 disposals) and Patrick Cripps (22 disposals) were again workhorses at the coalface, but Teague admitted his side was leaving too much to too few.

“We had too many players that didn’t get the job done,” Teague said.

“We had too many players that didn’t execute their role or execute a skill at the right times and then we got beaten in the contest.

Liam Ryan booted four goals for the Eagles. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

“You can’t win the contest over the whole field with only a couple of guys.

“We needed more guys to step up and crack in and compete and West Coast beat us in that area convincingly.

“They were harder, tougher and their ball use on the outside (was better). We’ve got some work to do.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do. Our decision making and just the craft elements of being able to execute your role, sitting down on the bench, that stood out to me.”

The loss leaves Carlton with a 4-8 record, including a 0-7 record against current top-eight sides.

The club had been firmly targeting a first finals appearance since 2013 this year, but will now need a miracle to make that breakthrough.

“It’s absolutely an uphill battle,” Teague said.

“Take away the finals, it’s the way we play.

Nic Naitanui, as he so often does, dominated proceedings in the ruck. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

“It’s going to be more about how we train, how we prepare and how we execute and right now we’re not executing in a manner that you need to be able to do to win AFL games of football and the scoreboard’s showing it.

“We’re not good enough, we’re not there and we’ve got to get better.”

The Blues lost Coleman Medal leader Harry McKay to a concussion in the opening term when he landed heavily in a marking contest and hit his head on the SCG turf.

McKay had not added to his tally of 38 goals for the season before the injury.

Defender Nick Newman also fell awkwardly in a marking contest late in the third quarter and was ruled out of the game with concussion.

Carlton has a bye next weekend before it tries to salvage something from the second half of what is shaping as another largely wasted season.

“I’ve got no doubt that our fans will be really flat and frustrated with that,” Teague said.

“They deserve better. We ask our fans to come and last for 120 minutes and we’ve got to turn up for 120 minutes and deliver.”