Patrick Cripps should be made captain at Carlton to lighten the load on Marc Murphy, writes Dermott Brereton

PATRICK Cripps gives for his all the Blues and should be elevated to the captaincy next year, writes DERMOTT BRERETON, who admits he had underestimated the gun midfielder.

EVERY form of employment in the world expects and desires 100 per cent commitment from their employees.

AFL is unique in so far as, we not only expect it, but we demand it.

And then over and above that commitment, we expect that the player (as an employee) is openly prepared to bleed for the club and the cause.

Another terminology we hear is “is he prepared to give his all?”

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In reality most players give very close to their “all” most of the time.

But very few give their absolute “all” every time.

Even the best player in the comp, Dustin Martin, who is at the peak of his powers right now, has a little break up forward every now and then because his team is going so well.

They can afford to let him go forward, have a rest and cause mayhem when the ball comes down there.

But what of a player that cannot afford to take himself out of the middle because his team simply cannot survive with him not being on the ball literally every minute of the game?

That team is Carlton. And that player is Patrick Cripps.

Against the Eagles Cripps played 115 minutes on the ball out of a total game time of 124.

To put it in perspective, the opposition’s best inside midfielder, Luke Shuey, played 107 minutes of ground time with the occasional breather outside the square and in the Eagles forward half.

Patrick Cripps fends off North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin in Round 4. Picture: Getty Images

Cripps attends every bounce in the middle.

Coming into this year, I thought he was an exceptionally good player.

But since watching him “in person” at three games, I have come to the conclusion that I have underestimated him.

He is better than exceptional. He was nothing short of heroic last Saturday against the Eagles.

And if someone asked me the question as to which player in the league gives “his all” for the longest time in each game, each week, Patrick Cripps is the clubhouse leader in 2018.

And he has only just turned 23.

With Captain Marc Murphy now on the wrong side of 30, it would make perfect sense to lighten the load on him and elevate Cripps to the captaincy in Round 1 next year.

Cripps is doing the job right now and he is proving to be a leader of men through his actions.

Carlton supporters and some scribes are starting to make noises about success and their impatience.

Honestly Blues supporters, just hold your horses.

If you can all pull the oars in the same direction and exercise the patience required, you will be rewarded.

You have for the first time, in a long time, a genuine crop of young talent at your club.

And Cripps is the natural born leader to take the Blues through to roughly 2025.

If Richmond is the leagues yardstick at the moment, learn from their “build” and the patience that they exercised.

Patrick Cripps is a leader of men, says Dermott Brereton. Picture: Michael Klein

The Tigers have four genuine stars, another six to eight players that are very, very good.

And then the lower end of the team comprises of players that play their role with what could best be described as precision efficiency.

Barring injury, (fingers crossed) there is no real reason why Jacob Weitering and Caleb Marchbank can’t be genuine stars of the competition as the best tandem key defenders after another 40 games experience.

That will take them up to the opening rounds of season 2020.

There is absolutely no reason why Charlie Curnow can’t be the best agile and mobile key forward in the comp in the same time frame.

Everything Jack Riewoldt does right now, Curnow has every bit of a chance to be his equal at least.

Paddy Dow has shown in the opening four rounds that he has the temperament and skill set to be an inside midfielder of 200 games. He has a real chance at stardom.

Sam Petrevski-Seton has given us glimpses of obscene talent. Produce that regularly and he just might be the best out of the lot of them. He has some Rioli like tendencies.

Zac Fisher is the “sneaker” though. His progress has sneaked up on people a little more than we first may have thought.

A player, who at first glance appeared last year as a slightly built left-footer that most played on the outside, is now an inside mid that wins his own ball and also wins centre bounce clearances.

Paddy Dow has shown great potential at the Blues. Picture: AAP

Plus, he can get to the outside and kick it like an artist.

These three along with Cripps will be the backbone of Carlton’s midfield for roughly another two hundred games.

Carlton supporters just have to make the reality check for the next 40 games, then they’ll be in for some fun.

For the meantime there will be inconsistency and there will be mistakes and so called shock losses.

I’m not even tipping them to win on Friday night. But if the club is allowed to hold the course and ride out the rough seas that will happen between now and up until the end of the 2019 season, logic says the Blues will be looking at the dawn of another successful era that will be sustainable.

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