IT MIGHT be the off-season, but there's plenty of things to catch up on when it comes to the life of Patrick Cripps.

Speaking to SEN Breakfast, here's what Cripps had to say.

On reacting to being written off throughout his career:

“It’s all part of the game, I understand how it all works. I try and do a fair bit of work especially at this time of year, that puts your body in the best position possible to back it up. Sometimes you have some little down trends of form and even confidence, but you keep going back to the work. Over the years now, I feel like durability has been a big thing for me and being able to back things up. I’ve always had an inner confidence and belief that I know what I can do.

“Sometimes it doesn’t go to plan, sometimes opposition players beat you. You keep learning, you keep evolving and you’ve got to keep adapting with the modern game too. That’s where I’m at, the game has gotten quicker and as a big mid, you always try and find ways to still impact the game and still evolve.”

On the team responding to expectation:

“There were times where if you take yourself out of the situation and look in, you could 100 per cent agree with some of the comments getting made. Like with anything, you get lessons in the game which you’ve got to learn from.

“At the start of this year, we had to learn pretty quick because we were setting ourselves up in positions to win games, but after half time we weren’t making the most of it. In a way, we were freezing and we had to go to work. Travis Boak came into the Club this year and with our club psych, we did a lot of group sessions. As the year went along, we felt like we were evolving in that space but weren’t quite getting the results we wanted.

“I felt like in the back half, we really matured as a team and found a formula that really helped us. We had some games which I still remember in the back half of the year, where everyone was talking about it but as a group we felt like we were past that stage. We were able to perform when it mattered and were able to put teams away in the second half.”

On potentially handing over the captaincy:

“It’s something I still enjoy doing. I’ve always been one with the captaincy that it’s never been an ego decision. I’ll sit down with the Club, ‘Frase’ and Chris Davies at the start of the pre-season… I still really enjoy doing it, but I know you don’t need to be the captain to be a leader.

“I always take note of previous leaders and how they’ve done it: I really enjoyed what Scott Pendlebury did at the back end of his career. Where I’m at right now, I still enjoy it, but I want to still be there and be a mentor for the next captain to come through and some of the other young leaders. I know I’ve got a lot of footy left in me, from a leadership front I know I’ll still lead if I’m captain or not.”

On Sam Walsh being a potential successor:

“With ‘Walshy’, you just need to see the way he plays. He’s got this fierce determination of getting the best out of yourself, he leads by example and will be a great captain of the Carlton Football Club one day - I have zero doubt about that.

“We’re lucky to be in the position with him and ‘Weiters’ that they could easily captain any other club right now, that’s the quality of what they bring. For us as a club and for me personally, some clubs are questioning who the next captain is - that’s not really a discussion for us, it’s when do you give them the reins.”

On entering contract talks:

“I’m 32 next year. When I signed my last contract, you never know when the time is going to be up. I feel really good physically and mentally, I know I’ve got a lot of footy left in me. We haven’t sat down yet, but there’s been a fair bit going on at the Club in the last six months. We don’t have a list manager, so Chris Davies has been doing about five roles at the moment.

“There’ll be some pieces to put in place, we’ll chat with the Club some time next year. Where the Club is at, I’m really happy.”

On how the Club reacted to the Lachie Cowan and Wade Derksen situations:

“I felt like the Club was really strong, they came out and got on the front foot with both. For me as a leader, firstly you want to check in and make sure they’re okay, that you’ve got a relationship with those guys that they feel comfortable chatting to you which they both did. They felt it enough. They were both embarrassed with it all.

“For me now, it’s letting them know that they’ve got the whole summer to win the respect back of the group and that no matter what, I’ve got their backs. For what we want to achieve as a group and where we want to go, we need everyone locking in and getting back to work. You’re always disappointed in that situation, but they felt the emotion.

“As a group for a long period of time, we’ve been really good in this space. You’ve got to be really strong on your standards and what you believe in, and going forward it’s a wake-up call for the group. With some of the young talent coming through, some of the players we added and the way we finished the year, we’re in a really good position going into next year. We need everyone buying in and coming back in good nick.

“As a leader, you want to set the standards and say ‘Hey, this is what we expect, now come back and show us how much it means to you’.

On welcoming Lachie Whitfield and Joel Amartey to the Club:

“I think getting Lachie in is huge. He’s exactly what we need, he can play all over the ground and in the modern game, you can’t have enough good ball users. I think he’ll play for another three or four years.

“Joel Amartey adds some support up there to big H, but also what’s underrated is his jump as a second ruck at the centre bounce which we saw this year. I think both of them will be huge additions for us.”

On the shift to the Round 1 fixture:

“I might have to start hitting the saunas now to start getting ready for that one. Ever since I’ve been playing it’s been the first MCG game of the year against Richmond, which has been an awesome game to be part of.

“Personally I’m a bit flat we don’t have that time slot, but I also understand how the fixture works. It’s a privilege to play in those time slots.”

On putting his hand up for Origin:

“I sure will, it was one of my best experiences in footy. I know there’s a lot of debate about it, but I thought the way the game was played last year was awesome.

“I’m glad it’s moved back a couple of weeks and the season has moved back a couple of weeks, it gives us a bit more time post-Christmas break to prepare.”

On an impending addition to the Cripps clan:

“We’re due December, we’re back in Melbourne now. Getting excited, I think I’m in for a rude shock and I might have to pull my weight a bit more. It’s going to be an exciting couple of months.”