AFL 2022: Carlton’s newest Brownlow Medal winner Patrick Cripps dodges AFL CEO Gill McLachlan’s criticism

Patrick Cripps resurfaced on Monday after his thrilling Brownlow Medal win to AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan’s criticism of the Appeal Boards decision that saw him escape suspension.

Carlton captain Patrick Cripps was tired but still thrilled to be a Brownlow medallist the morning after his triumph. Picture: Getty Images

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan says the league will still review the contentious bump rule that saw Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps cleared but has not backed away from his scathing criticism of the appeals board.

McLachlan made clear on Monday he believed Cripps was a worthy winner but said his thoughts on the appeals board decision was a separate issue.

“I am not sure I can remember a more worthy and popular winner than Patrick Cripps,” McLachlan said.

“Not one part of that diminishes his win last night. He is tough, he is brave. Look at that game in round 23 against Collingwood.

“I haven’t seen a player want to get the ball more. He is an incredible, worthy Brownlow Medal winner.

“Anything related to the appeals process is separate. You know what I thought of the decision. I thought it was confusing at best.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has clarified his comments on Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps escaping suspension for a bump late in the season. Picture: Getty Images

“It is a comment on the appeals board’s decision and that decision has nothing to do with Patrick Cripps.

“He is entirely eligible, he was cleared and he’s a fabulous footballer, person and worthy brownlow medallist.”

McLachlan also confirmed the AFL’s football department was reviewing potential changes to the bump rule that could introduced an even stricter liability for players.

His comments came hours after Cripps refused to bite back at McLachlan’s disappointment about the Carlton star dodging suspension late in the season.

Cripps said he had “moved on” from the controversial appeals board decision that overturned his two-match ban for a bump on Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee.

The 27-year-old midfielder would have been ineligible to win the Brownlow Medal if the suspension stood and would never have played in round 23, when he polled maximum votes to leapfrog 2020 winner Lachie Neale.

Patrick Cripps spoke to the media at Southbank the morning after becoming the 2022 Brownlow medallist. Picture: Getty Images

Asked directly about McLachlan saying the decision was “a complete nonsense” and that he was “very agitated”, Cripps quipped: “He called my name for the last three votes, so I’ll just leave it at that.”

The outgoing CEO’s comments were published in this week’s AFL Record and made before Sunday night’s Brownlow function.

So instead of joining Corey McKernan and Chris Grant as ineligible ‘winners’, congratulatory messages flowed in from the likes of past medallists Neale, Chris Judd and Ben Cousins.

The Judd and Cousins texts remained unopened at the time Cripps completed the last of his media engagements at Southbank but he revelled in the videos from family and friends celebrating.

“I’ve always been big on my family – they’re sort of the backbone,” said Cripps, who pulled an all-nighter.

“It meant a lot to me, but (it also shows) how much it means to people around you.

Patrick Cripps lived his boyhood dream when he won the Brownlow Medal on Sunday night. Picture: Getty Images

“It’s always the support network that makes you play at the highest level, so it was great to share with them ... they enjoyed the night as much as I did, I reckon.”

Among Cripps’ revelations in a heartfelt acceptance speech was his previous anxiety with media duties and how he would lobby his parents to let him out of boarding school to watch the Brownlow Medal each year.

“I reckon a lot of people get a bit nervous in public speaking, to be honest – it doesn’t come naturally to many people,” he said.

“But I just did a lot of work with the club psych, the media manager and (ex-teammate) Michael Jamison ... it’s like anything in life, if you’re struggling with something or you want to get better, you’ve just got to put in the work.

“Hopefully, young guys and girls who come into the AFL system now can take a bit of confidence from that, knowing they can chip away at it and speak fine.”

Patrick Cripps won new fans with his down-to-earth acceptance speech. Picture: Getty Images

Cripps still craves team success, which he had a taste of this year before the Blues stumbled in sight of qualifying for finals, but wasn’t interested in slamming critics who believed his best football was behind him.

Two below-par seasons, at least by his lofty standards, preceded his Brownlow campaign but he returned to his best in emphatic fashion from round 1 this year.

“It’s a bit of reward for effort. I knew I had a lot of self-belief and I probably wasn’t proving people wrong – it was probably proving myself right again,” Cripps said.

“It was getting back to the way I was playing in 2018 and 2019. I worked really hard last off-season to give myself the best chance to have a really good pre-season and carry that momentum into the season.

“It’s nice to play good footy and it was even better, especially early in the year, to play in some wins, which since I’ve been at the club, we haven’t had that real momentum and suddenly I feel like we’re really building now.”

Originally published as AFL 2022: Carlton’s newest Brownlow Medal winner Patrick Cripps dodges AFL CEO Gill McLachlan’s criticism