Coaching great Mick Malthouse fears Carlton is at risk of burning out captain Patrick Cripps

Coaching legend Mick Malthouse fears his former club Carlton is in danger of burning out its inspirational captain Patrick Cripps, calling on the club to protect its greatest asset.

Coaching great Mick Malthouse fears midfield superstar Patrick Cripps will burn out before the tide turns at Carlton.

Cripps, 24, has played 971 midfield minutes this season — the most of any player across the competition.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE SUPERFOOTY PODCAST

“If Carlton want to have success down the track — and they will get it because they’ve got too many good players coming through — they want him to be able to lead it and lead it well into his late 20s and even his early 30s,” Malthouse told the Herald Sun.

“And the problem I see at the moment is that he’s a Mr Fix Everything, you know, if you’re in doubt, leave him in there.

“He hasn’t been developed to play forward, he doesn’t spend a lot of time on the bench.

“You can run those blokes into the ground and they are old before their time.

“I hope for Carlton supporters, and I hope for the club’s sake — and I genuinely mean this — that they don’t wear him out.”

Malthouse said with finals already out of the equation it was time to find less taxing roles for the club’s most precious asset.

Patrick Cripps leads Carlton off after its horror loss to GWS Giants on Sunday. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images.

“We’re not going to muck around, the simple fact is they are a long way from the eight. so maybe it’s best to throw the Dale Thomas’ and Marc Murphy’s, those that are just about at the end of their career, into the middle and leave them in there and give ‘Crippa’ a half-forward role or even an out of the goalsquare role,” Malthouse said.

“Just take him out of there and give him 75 per cent in the middle … get him through the year so that Sam Walsh is another year older by next year and Zac Fisher and Sam Petrevski-Seton can take over a bit more, so that he’s not the one getting belted from pillar to post.

“That’s not denying winning, it’s just simply protecting your asset. You’ve got to protect your assets, surely?

“You can’t just wear them into the ground. Every time he runs down the race he’s got more tape on him than Phar Lap.

“I want to see supporters get value from a great player, and he’s going to be a great player and he will be a major part of the revival, but you’ve got to make sure he doesn’t end up in that pit of worn out warriors.”

Patrick Cripps felt the close attention of GWS tagger Matt De Boer. Picture: Phil Hillyard.

Malthouse, who coached Cripps at the Blues, said he had “a real feel for him” as a cousin of one of his “all-time favourite players”, the late West Coast Eagle Chris Mainwaring.

“This is only a view, but I have this terminology that I use and he’s a warrior,” Malthouse said.

“Josh Kennedy at Sydney and Joel Selwood (Geelong) are warriors.

“This is not the right term but they’re like draft horses — they just keep going. You can load them up and load them up.

‘F****** CHEAT’: HOW THOMAS CAN AVOID A BIG PENALTY

BAROMETER: BOMBER SMITH’S CRUEL KNEE BLOW

TRADE PAIN: THE OTHER DEAL WHICH COULD HAUNT BLUES

“But you don’t get that tag until your late 20s or early thirties, a bloke like Jack Ziebell has the potential to be that if he stays in the middle.

“It’s just that they’re not lightning quick; they’re always there, reliable and inevitably bandaged up and taking a massive hit on their bodies.

“I wouldn’t put Patrick Dangerfield in that category because he’s got pace and he’s got a bit of flair — Dusty Martin can play at full-forward — but I put Cripps in that category and it’s too young to put him in it.

“He’s always bandaged up, he’s always knocked about, he’s always Mr Reliable. He gets tagged and he’s getting a little bit narky at the moment.”

Originally published as Coaching great Mick Malthouse fears Carlton is at risk of burning out captain Patrick Cripps