Patrick Cripps denies 2025 already a wasted year for Carlton after loss to Magpies

Source : ABC NEWS

Carlton captain Patrick Cripps has worn his heart on his sleeve, expressing emotion and frustration about his team’s nightmare start to the season but remaining confident they can turn things around.

Cripps’ Blues had the latest in a series of second-half fade-outs as Collingwood came from behind on a wet night at the MCG to win by 17 points, 8.15 (63) to 6.10 (46), a scoreline that flattered the men in navy blue.

An emotional Cripps told ABC Sport after the match that he remained confident the season was not over despite the winless start to 2025 that has the side sitting in 16th.

“I’m very bullish with what we can still do. Obviously [we] don’t want to be zip and four but f*** it that’s where we’re at at the moment,” Cripps said.

“We’ve got to get better. The number one thing is to never lose hope … in 2023 we were playing a lot worse footy than that and we found a way to turn it around. We’ve been here before we know what to expect but we’re really going to have to dig in.”

In 2023 Carlton had only four wins through 14 rounds — lying 14th on the ladder — before coming home with a rush, winning eight of their last nine matches to make finals before losing a preliminary final to Brisbane at the Gabba.

In the first four rounds of 2025, Carlton has been outscored by opponents by a cumulative 110 points in the second half of matches. Cripps said he was frustrated and disappointed by the emerging patterns.

“I feel like it’s pretty clear – we’ve had a good month of footy now — what we need to work on. But I feel like tonight, they [Collingwood] really got us through the contest, which is … I feel like the other few games we matched or won that area of the game but tonight their pressure was really good.

Asked why the team was struggling in the latter stages of games, Cripps said:

“Mate if I had the answers, f*** I wish I’d know. I think it’s just that fight and that contest stuff, and [about] still being brave in moments. When the opposition comes at us at the moment, you see it when you watch the game back the boys get a little bit tight, so that’s a hurdle we’ve got to face and I know we’ll get through it, it’s just frustrating at the moment.”

Cripps said at least one element of Carlton’s game was still strong.

“I feel the thing at the moment that’s holding it up the defence is sound — if we were sitting here and conceding 120 points [a game] that would be a worry but we’re holding some good teams to low scores … we’ve just got to finetune a few other things and get the confidence up of the boys.”

Asked how to keep the group together in challenging times, Cripps replied:

“You’ve got to be really honest with where you’re at, too — you’ve got to have those conversations you can’t sugar-coat it, the facts are the facts. [We] face reality but you never lose hope and you never lose your identity or belief, that’s so important in these moments.”

The skipper batted back questions about whether 2025 was already another wasted year.

“You can’t look that far ahead, to be honest. You do that, you can waste years and I’ve never been about that. Like I said, [2023] is a perfect example — there’s a lot of belief in this group and I feel like I have a lot of footy left in me as well. If you start thinking like that, it’s a bit of a slippery slope.”

Cripps also mounted a spirited defence of coach Michael Voss despite the team’s tough position.

“I’m so bullish on [Michael Voss] — he’s a great man, he’s a leader of men, he’s done it as a player and he’s had a massive impact on this group when he came in,” Cripps said.

“We’d never played finals before he took over, a lot of us players we’ve [now] been in two finals series, obviously got to a prelim and the core [of the group] has been together for a while now.

“He’s really honest, he’s upfront and has great relationships with the boys and I’ve a lot of trust and belief in him but also us and the coaches to turn this around.”