Brownlow 2022: Cripps polls three votes at finish to grab thrilling win

Please refresh your web browser for the latest updates for the vote count. Some updates may take a few minutes to show up on the leaderboard.

Our Brownlow blog for 2022 is officially wrapped up.

Full congratulations are in order for Patrick Cripps, this year’s winner.

Enjoy grand final week.

Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps capped off a brilliant season in which he re-emerged as a true force by being crowned Brownlow medallist after an exciting count at Crown Palladium on Sunday night.

Cripps, 27, began the 2022 season under pressure to return to his best form, and did just that, polling 29 votes, including three votes in the final-round loss to Collingwood to secure a dramatic victory.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry ... it’s unbelievable. I can’t put it into words - it’s a massive honour,” Cripps said.

Patrick Cripps is the 2022 Brownlow Medallist after a dramatic count at Crown Palladium wasn’t decided until round 23.Credit: Getty Images

READ MORE

Please refresh your web browser for the latest updates for the vote count. Some updates may take a few minutes to show up on the leaderboard.

Carlton coach and Brownlow Medallist Michael Voss has given some rich praise to Blues skipper Patrick Cripps after his medal win tonight.

“Patrick embodies all the values we look for in a leader and I speak on behalf of the whole club in congratulating our captain on this honour,” Voss said.

Blues coach Michael Voss.Credit: AFL Photos

“He is the ultimate team player and leads not just the midfield but the entire team with incredible passion and is determined to achieve team success.

“He stepped up as standalone skipper this season and has been at the forefront of instilling change, driving high standards and embracing a new environment at the club.

“His connection with everyone at the club is to be admired – from the football department, admin staff, players, and coaches – he is driving our culture from the front and is a great example of a strong leader.

“Patrick had a stellar season, and it is fitting that he has been recognised with our game’s most prestigious individual award.

“Being the selfless leader that he is, his sole focus is team success, but he now deserves the time to look back on his individual season and reflect on this incredible achievement.”

Patrick Cripps is the first Brownlow winner at Carlton since Chris Judd in 2010.

Before that, Greg Williams was victorious in 1994. Beyond that, you need to go way back to Gordon Collins in 1964 and John James three years earlier.

.... don’t forget, Sam Walsh polled 30 vote last year to finish fourth ....

Patrick Cripps.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images

More from Patrick Cripps to Channel Seven.

You’re the first Brownlow medallist since Juddy from Carlton. When you first moved to Melbourne you really battled with the fame and celebrity. What did you do with it?

I come from a town of 800 people, went to boarding school in Perth. When I first got to Carlton, I was a bit thick around the gills. I had a bit of weight A lot of people said I rolled into the club. They were right. I wasn’t the most athletic bloke going around. But it’s a weird feeling being up here. It’s something I always dreamed of playing AFL, and I always dreamed of playing AFL, and I always dreamed, you know, of playing in a team that has a lot of success, and we haven’t quite got there, but although these individual awards are great recognition for a lot of hard work, it’s a lot of team stuff that really drives you. We haven’t got there yet, but as a player, you know, we’ve been down the bottom for a lot of years and we feel like we’re really building now, and you know, I’m so grateful for Carlton to give me the opportunity, and although we haven’t got there yet, I feel like we’re building a lot of momentum, and that gives me a lot of satisfaction, and it gives me a lot of drive and motivation going forward.

Patrick Cripps.Credit: AFL Photos

2019 was a tough year and you were carrying the burden of the club. Was there a round and a match against Brisbane where you almost pulled out, it was just too much for you?

Yeah, it was. It was a tough time. We had, at that time, we had won three out of 44 games. So it was really tough. And I look at teams now that are going through a really tough time and I have a lot of sympathy for them and I can relate. And it is tough, but like I said before, I’m big on optimism and hope and finding a way forward, and I feel like we’ve done that, and it was tough. I had a really, before that game, I had a stinker, we got tagged out of it, and I think that was the week that Bolts got sacked and he had a big influence on the club at that time. I went out and that week I was really close to missing the game. I didn’t really want to play. I was really fried mentally. And I remember talking to my manager, talking to my family and I said “I don’t think I’m going to play this week.” They said “Just give it ’til the day of the game.“ The day of the game I woke up and I said “I’m going to play this game.“ When I was driving to the game, I was like “I’m the leader of this club. I’m going to put on my...my best foot forward, have a lot of fun, play footy.” That led me down a path of realising how important the mental side of the game is, and, you know, no matter what you’re going through, you can still perform at a high level, and we were lucky enough to win that game. It was our fourth win out of a lot of games, and since then, I feel like we’ve slowly built some momentum.

There was a time when you refused to do media as well. You said to the club “I can’t be put in front of the cameras.” You went to a speech pathologist.

I couldn’t string two words help together in front of the media. That’s not a lie. End of 2015, start of 2016, I was that nervous, it was probably lucky we didn’t play well during that time. If I played well and we’d won, I would’ve had to speak to the people on the ground, and if we ever did that I would try and avoid them. I was that nervous because I used to stutter a bit in front of the media. When I see young guys now that are really nervous in front of the media, I have a lot of empathy for them and I remember I was at the club one day and Marc Murphy was doing a press conference and he spoke so well. In my head I said to myself “I would like to be able to talk like that in front of people.” At that time, I wouldn’t have been able to do that. I had some great people in my network that not only the media manager, but the club psychologist, and Michael Jameson, who had a big influence in my early days, we did some mock interviews for a good six months there, and I refused to do some media for six months and we just practised interviews for six months and got to the point where I was comfortable and now I actually really enjoy it. But yeah, it wasn’t easy going there for a bit. And now I’m happy to chat in front of everyone.

You’ve been lured home so many times, but the reason you didn’t was you felt and perhaps it’s the farming background, you haven’t finished the job you started at Carlton. The last time Carlton had the ultimate success, you were a few months old.

Yeah. It was 1995. Yeah, it’s a tough one. I’m always grateful for the club to give me the opportunity. Like I said before, I wasn’t the fittest guy going around, and they took a chance on me and in my draft year I probably, you know, wouldn’t have got drafted at the start of the year. So I’ve always felt like I’m a loyal person. My parents always instilled that into me, and it’s been some really tough years and it’s taken I suppose a lot of optimism and hope and really good people in my corner to keep forging a way forward, and I feel like now we’re really gaining some traction as a club, and I’m really optimistic going forward. I’ve always said as a player, we’ve built this place from the ground up, and although it didn’t go our way this year, that really hurt at the end of the year but I feel make we gained some momentum going into next year. I’m excited for what as a club we’re going to produce, and we’ve got some really good people at the club and I’m really excited.

Round 21, we thought you were rubbed out. You called Dennis Dinuto, got off and you produced arguably one of the greatest games in the history of football in round 23. Did you think you’d produced a 3-vote game?

Oh, to be honest by the end of the game I was that numb, I’d rather get zero touches and win than play the way I did and lose. But, yeah, it was a weird time. The one thing I do notice is the crowd the last game, and Carlton/Collingwood fans are so passionate. They probably go at each other a fair bit but that last round as a player was so special to play in. It was 90,000, two big fan bases going at it. There was momentum going both ways. I remember as a kid growing up I just wanted to play AFL footy and play in front of big crowds. I remember walking out that day and I was like “This is what footy is all about, two big fan bases.” There was a lot of momentum swings in that game. You talk about gratitude, it’s pretty special to be able to play in those games.

The 2022 Brownlow top three, after a tight count.Credit: The Age

The moment: Patrick Cripps is announced as the winner.Credit: AFL Photos ? Getty Images

Patrick Cripps speaking to Channel 7 after his Brownlow Medal win.

Patrick Cripps, Brownlow medallist. How does that sound to you?

Mate, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

I loved footy growing up as a kid, and I still remember being at boarding school back in WA, and I used to always ask my mum “Make sure you sign me out, give me leave on Brownlow night” because I used to love watching it.

My older brother Daniel used to sign me out and we always used to watch it together.

Mate, it’s unbelievable. Yeah. Yeah. I can’t put it into words at the moment but it’s a massive honour and I’m absolutely pumped.

Patrick Cripps of the Blues with partner Monique Fontana.Credit: AFL Photos

You’ve polled 20 in a two-win season before. This year was the first time you got on the right side of the win/loss ledger. You would’ve at some point thought about what you might vote. What were you thinking?

It was just nice to actually win some games. Some people can laugh, but you know, the first sort of seven, eight years of my journey and Carlton’s journey have been really tough, and I’m big on optimism and hope and always finding a way forward and this year, you know, was the first time in my career we’ve actually been ahead of the ledger. So, I just love winning games of footy. I love playing with my mates and this is just a bit of reward for effort, but there’s a lot of other people that to win this award have to help you out. There are a lot of people I have to thank.

Your mum said you were riding a motorbike at 3, driving a car illegally at 5, whatever you were doing, there was a football somewhere. Did you love football from the moment you smelt the Sherrin?

It’s funny that I actually drove a car to the garage at 5, which probably mum didn’t tell you. I cracked at it her. I was actually with the old man. He was actually with the old man. He was standing there and I put my hand near the oil guard, which is not the smartest thing to do. He gave me a clip around the ears. I said “I’m getting out of here.” The Landcruiser was a manual, through the garage, probably wasn’t the smartest moment of my life. Northampton is a being part of my life, my family is a big part of my life, my family is a big part of my life, both parts of my life I’m very proud of.

You sold the farm but what did farming teach you?

I was in Europe recently with both my parents and when I was a kid, they gave me the best upbringing possible, and farming is tough, like it has its good years and bad years, and I actually sat down with my old man and talked about the out in 2006 and 2007 and just talked about the...probably the mental toll he went through then. It gave me an appreciation for what my parents went through and gave me the opportunity not only to play AFL, but they put me through school and I probably didn’t realise how...how tough that time was, because my parents just showed up every day as my parents, and I look back now, as I got older and have a bit more appreciation, I suppose, for my parents and I realise how much they did for us as kids. And my old man was my footy coach in juniors. I still thought he was the same person through 06 and 07, but to him, it was pretty tough through those times. So I have a lot of appreciation for both my parents.

You were an Eagles fan growing up. Two favourite players were Brownlow medallists then subsequently there’s been another two Brownlow medallists that have walked into your life. Tell us about why you wear No. 9 and what Chris Judd taught you at the Blues?

Northampton, a small town, loved my time there, but massive Eagles fan. I was lucky enough to get through a bit of a golden era there. Went to the 2006 grand final. Next-door neighbours to Daniel Chick back home, so loved them and it was pretty special, I was lucky enough during that time when I got drafted to Carlton, Chris Judd was still there and he gave me so much time when I first got there, and obviously, with the ball magnet stuff, I do a lot of stuff with Lachie Neale and Tom Mitchell. Three Brownlow medallists running a company together.

They rubbed it in a bit, so now I’m level,

Growing up as a kid, you idolise people. Chris Judd and Ben cousins were both role models of mine. It’s weird, when you get to AFL level, you still like you’re a young kid. I still feel like I’m a young kid on the farm. When you go to an opening training session and kids have the number on their back, you still you’re there age. You realise how much influence you have on people.

It must be noted that Patrick Cripps and Carlton had a big tribunal hearing late in the season ...

Looking back to the events of round 21: Patrick Cripps has been cleared to play this weekend after the AFL appeals board overturned the tribunal’s decision of a two-match ban on the Carlton captain for rough conduct, crucially boosting the Blues’ finals hopes.

In a marathon hearing that lasted more than four and a half hours, including 90 minutes of jury deliberations, the AFL appeals board chairman, Murray Kellman, found there was enough evidence to overturn the tribunal’s decision, freeing Cripps to play against Melbourne and Collingwood in the next two rounds.

Kellman said the finding of the jury on Tuesday night was unreasonable as both players, Cripps and Brandon Ah Chee, were contested for the ball, resulting in a collision.

The Patrick Cripps’ bump on Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee at the Gabba.