PATRICK Cripps could be set to spend more time in the forward line during the 2019 season.

Speaking to 1116 SEN, the co-captain revealed he had been spending more time at training working on his skills up forward as he prepares for the upcoming season.

Cripps showed some of the fruit of his labour in the JLT 1 clash against Essendon, kicking two goals and proving to be a dangerous asset for the Blues in attack.

“I want to get up forward a bit more this year,” Cripps said.

“Especially with the young talent we’ve got coming through the midfield, they’re starting to get ready to really shoulder the load through there and play some good footy.

“It’s probably the goalkicking and the craft element up forward that I’ve been working on.”

Additional time in the forward line could prove to be crucial for Cripps, allowing him to spend more time on the field and provide additional leadership to his younger teammates.

The added time on field will be particularly important given the absence of co-captain Sam Docherty.

While Docherty’s presence on the field will be missed, his counterpart said things won’t change off-field.

“This year, the on-field is going to be left up to me — but leadership these is 90 percent off-field throughout the week, getting plans and getting the best out of players,” he said.

“In terms of the actual captaincy, it’s not going to change too much this year except for the actual on-field stuff. We’ll still both do it and do a good job.

Despite the big gap that Docherty will leave on a game day, Cripps is embracing the challenges that have come his way.

“It was obviously a massive honour… I think the whole point of leadership is to try and get the best out of the team and individuals as quickly as possible,” he said.

“You can never master leadership but I’ve just been trying to really enjoy it.

"You’ve got to be yourself, but trying to get the best out of these young guys and make them get ready to play AFL footy as quick as possible and have fun along the way.”