Carlton’s former football boss Brad Lloyd says the Blues should continue to evolve their faltering midfield to find a better mix around Patrick Cripps rather than consider trading their contracted captain.
Cripps’ position at Carlton is a talking point as the club suffers through a nightmare season, including blowing a lead for the seventh time this year in a 39-point defeat to St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
The Blues led by 15 points in the third quarter, but conceded the next eight goals in what has become a familiar second-half collapse and bodes poorly for out-of-contract coach Michael Voss. They sit third-last on the ladder with a 1-7 win-loss record.
Cripps, who is 31 and contracted until the end of next year, won only 14 disposals and had four turnovers against the Saints, ranking as his worst performance of the season based on Champion Data’s AFL player ratings.
Carlton demoted reigning club champion, fellow inside midfielder George Hewett, to the VFL after their Good Friday loss to North Melbourne as Voss desperately seeks a solution to the Blues’ midfield woes.
Lloyd, who spent seven years at Carlton before parting ways with the club at the end of last season, encouraged the Blues to retain dual Brownlow medallist Cripps.
“He’s been a star for the club, and there have been similar conversations about his form before this year – but he’s won two Brownlows since then,” Lloyd told The Age.
“I feel like whenever the team goes through a rough patch, Cripps is the target. As a club, the first port of call is to do everything you can to support him. You can really have only one player of that type in the midfield [who is not a strong runner].
“I’d be looking to complement him, as opposed to moving him. The only way you consider those sorts of trades, for someone of that calibre, is if you’re absolutely blown out of the water.”
Lloyd dismissed any similarity with Cripps’ situation to Melbourne’s decision last year to offload midfield veterans Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, who were both keen for a fresh start.
He said young gun Jagga Smith, who the Blues traded up in the 2024 draft to select, brought class and outside run to the on-ball brigade, but that they needed more of both.
Carlton continue to experiment with their centre-bounce mix, including usual-defender Lachie Cowan – who tagged Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera – having the third-most attendances behind Cripps and Sam Walsh on Saturday night.
Zac Williams, Ben Ainsworth and Ollie Florent were others to receive opportunities. Adam Cerra also had 10 centre-bounce attendances, and is viewed internally as comfortably the club’s best two-way runner.
Meanwhile, Hewett is averaging 34 disposals, 16 contested possessions and eight clearances in the VFL.
The Blues will match any bid on generational midfield talent Cody Walker, son of ex-Carlton player Andrew, in this year’s draft. Walker is unlikely to last beyond the first three picks, and boasts a lethal mix of speed, endurance, ball-winning nous and work-rate that should immediately help.
Walker’s impending arrival was another reason why Lloyd felt the Blues should stick with Cripps, who he said was responsible for driving cultural standards and behaviour at Ikon Park.
“[Cripps] is a wonderful person, an optimist, and he’s the energy around the club,” Lloyd said.
“He’s an old-school leader, in the Jonathan Brown mould, and he just wants it to be a family environment and atmosphere. He’s the one constantly thinking of ways the club can improve and grow. He puts everything into it, and has given every ounce of his energy for a long time.”
Lloyd was also sympathetic for Voss’ plight as he fights to resurrect Carlton’s fortunes and save his own job. The fifth-year Blues coach comes up against his old club Brisbane at the Gabba on Friday night.
“No one puts in more effort, and no one cares more,” Lloyd said of Voss.
“I feel for him with how they haven’t been able to play full, four-quarter games. It’s devastating, really, to see how the team’s fallen away in games. I’d love to see a [positive] result, and in particular for ‘Vossy’.
“A lot of people want things to turn for him.”
Former West Coast Eagles premiership coach Adam Simpson, now a part-time advisor to Voss, maintained the three-time Lions premiership captain had the self-belief to solve the Blues’ problems.
“This looks like a big challenge for Vossy, but I think he is up for the fight. We’ll see what happens in the future – tough game [against Brisbane] this week,” Simpson told SEN.
Simpson said he was mystified by the second-half woes. “I can’t explain it either, other than you need a 10-goal win. You need to be up by such a margin, it doesn’t matter what happens… At the moment … being 12 to 25 points doesn’t cut it, if you are Carlton,” Simpson said.
With Jon Pierik
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