SATURDAY night sees Patrick Cripps lead his players down the race and onto Marvel Stadium for game 250 – and in doing so, the resident captain joins some of the truly great names in Carlton’s storied history.
Across 130 seasons of League football, only 13 players before Cripps have achieved the 250-game milestone at the Club – the first of them John Nicholls in the 4th round of 1971 v Geelong at Kardinia Park; the most recent Marc Murphy in the opening round of 2019 v Richmond at the MCG.
Included in that much-vaunted collective is the current games record holder Craig Bradley, Bruce Doull, Alex Jesaulenko, Stephen Kernahan, Stephen Silvagni and Geoff Southby – all Legends of the Carlton Football Hall of Fame.
As a two-time Brownlow Medallist, Cripps also becomes the first winner to realise 250 Carlton games; and so it was with his 200th game in Round 18, 2024 v the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, as the next closest was the 1961 medal winner John James who finished five senior games adrift on 195.
Having already surpassed the 248 Carlton games accumulated by Harry Dean’s old man Peter, Cripps will draw level with the Club’s longest-serving captain Stephen Kernahan on 251, in the Round 22 match with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Sunday week.
Come season 2027, Cripps can conceivably challenge Brett Ratten with 255 games, Alex Jesaulenko (256), David McKay (263) and Geoff Southby (268).
Will Cripps become Carlton’s seventh 300-game footballer after Bradley, Doull, Kade Simpson, Nicholls, Silvagni and Murphy? At 31, and with everything going right, ‘Crippa’ could chest the 300-game banner in late 2028.
Carlton’s VFL/AFL games record holders since 1897
375 - Craig Bradley
356 - Bruce Doull
342 - Kade Simpson
328 - John Nicholls
312 - Stephen Silvagni
300 - Marc Murphy
287 - Justin Madden
278 - Anthony Koutoufides
268 - Geoff Southby
263 - David McKay
256 - Alex Jesaulenko
255 - Brett Ratten
251 - Stephen Kernahan
249* - PATRICK CRIPPS
249 - Peter Jones
248 - Peter Dean
