Blues captain Patrick Cripps’ best mate Ciaran Byrne reveals the bids to wrest skipper out of Carlton

Former Carlton footballer Ciaran Byrne sheds light on his best mate Patrick Cripps’ hunt of a Premiership and when he plans to move back to Perth.

Patrick Cripps’ best mate desperately wants the Carlton captain to lift the premiership cup after rejecting several opportunities to return home to Western Australia when the Blues were in turmoil.

Irishman Ciaran Byrne and Cripps were drafted in 2013 and first met in Arizona at a training camp under coach Mick Malthouse.

The country boys from opposite sides of the world endured some of the club’s worst days before homesickness got the better of Byrne and he returned home after 2018.

“When things weren’t going too well at Carlton, he always stuck fat with them and no one would be more deserving than him,” Byrne, 29, said.

Ciaran Byrne (left) and Patrick Cripps. Picture: Instagram

“There were times when we were having those conversations. Obviously Freo and (West Coast) were pretty keen to get him over.

“I think there were times where he might have thought about (leaving) – but he was never actually going to make that jump. I could see deep down that Carlton was his home.

“(A premiership) would be the icing on cake to get there – and I’ll be flying over (to see it).”

The Herald Sun is aware of another club, outside of the Eagles and Dockers, that has approached Cripps directly. But he would not even entertain the conversation.

In 2021, Cripps signed a six-year contract with the Blues, which expires in 2027. Even that deal was signed before the wheel started to really turn as Carlton sacked another coach (David Teague) at the end of that season.

Cripps’ mum, Cath, has said she expected Patrick, wife Monique and their newborn daughter, Koda, to eventually settle in Perth – but not until he is finished playing.

Cripps, 29, will play his 200th game on Saturday and a post-match function has been planned to celebrate the Brownlow Medallists’ remarkable career.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 1: Ciaran Byrne (left) and Patrick Cripps celebrate in the Carlton rooms after a win in 206. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Media.

The Blues wanted Byrne back in 2022. He met Cripps in Barcelona and spoke to coach Michael Voss before deciding to stay in Ireland. He was freakishly talented and played 22 AFL games, but was plagued by injuries and he often wonders ‘what if?’.

“I picked the wrong time to go,” Byrne said from County Louth on Tuesday.

“When you come from an amateur sport – and I was told Carlton was a big club – I was expecting to be coming into a team that was progressing and winning. (So) to be the opposite end of the spectrum was weird. My entire six years they were probably in turmoil, so I kind of have those regrets. Could I be playing my 200th this week?”