Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
West Coast premiership forward Jamie Cripps has revealed he will be returning to his country roots following his AFL retirement as he opened up on his decision to hang up the boots.
Cripps retired from the AFL on Tuesday following 16 seasons in the AFL, where he kicked 323 goals from 277 games and was crucial to the club’s 2018 flag success.
A knee injury picked up in the WAFL brought a premature end to his career with the 34-year-old Northampton product saying he is unlikely to stick around the big smoke in Perth for long.
“We’re building a house up in Geraldton at the moment so we’re looking to move up there soon,” he told West Coast’s Coast to Coast podcast.
“I’m hoping to get in with an agricultural company working with Nutrian Ag, who I’ve been doing ambassador stuff for the last couple of years, seeing farmers and a bit of Country Week Footy stuff.
“It’s been on my mind for the last four to five years. I tossed it up to the missus, and she didn’t shut it down straight away, and she’s become great friends with everyone up from that way, so I’m looking forward to it.”
It comes as Cripps revealed while the knee injury had effectively made the retirement decision for him, he marked giving his retirement speech to the club as one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do across his career.
“I was really dreading it; all I could think about was doing it. When Travis King called me for the press release, I nearly started crying on the phone,” he said.
“It’s been a big few weeks coming up with the decisions, hurt my knee earlier on in the year and rescanned it, and it was worse than we first thought, so that made my decision as I wasn’t going to get back
“Talked it through with the missus and the kids; the kids wanted me to go one more because they wanted to run out again.
“But I was dreading coming into talking with teammates and staff; that was nearly the hardest thing I had to do.”
Cripps reflected on his journey in the AFL, which began with getting drafted to St Kilda and being the start of a full-circle moment which would see him start and end his career with Eagles coach Andrew McQualter by his side.
“The week before I got drafted to the Saints I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, so in the leading up to the draft I was in hospital, and sort of had to keep it quiet from the club,” he said.
“I was lucky enough to get drafted by St Kilda, and they were great, probably the easiest place for me to go into an AFL club, and I got to play with Mini.
“He was always a ripping fella; I connected well with him from the start. I spent only one or two years with him, and he went to Gold Coast, and I was really keen to play under him once I heard he was coming across.”
While Cripps experienced plenty of highs across his career including two grand finals and the 2018 triumph, he has also seen the club go through its lowest ebb over the past five years.
Surprisingly, however, Cripps said he has loved playing through the tough times, getting to bond with younger teammates.
“It’s been really enjoyable. I’ve loved the last few years; they’re a great bunch of young boys coming through here,” he said.
“They’re pretty much closer to my kids’ age than they’re to me, so if we’re going away, they’re usually looking after them, but it’s really good. I wish I could have played a lot more footy with the younger boys because there are some absolute weapons.”
But 2018 still holds a special place, admitting he may finally watch a replay of the match for the first time.
“I can’t really remember game to game, but everything was working that year, everyone knew what they had to do and what role they had on game day, and we were just winning,” he said.
“I was s*****n myself, yeah, I was thinking it was going to be Hawthorn all over again. After 15, I had a few beers after that to forget, but it felt like we just needed one goal to get things going.
“I’ve never rewatched it but might be something I do in the coming weeks and have a couple beers.”
While Crippa has formed plenty of close bonds throughout his career at West Coast, he said being alongside fellow Northampton product Josh Kennedy will be one of his fondest memories.
“I was stoked to play a lot of games with him; it was pretty special. He’s a club and AFL great, a person I looked up to from Northampton from a distance and then to play in the forward line with him was awesome,” he said.
