A SECOND consecutive selection as an All Australian and the Most Valuable Player as voted by his peers.
It’s been another season to remember for Carlton co-captain, Patrick Cripps.
Here are the numbers which have made an award-ladened season for the Blues’ No.9.
4 — Cripps became Carlton’s fourth winner of the Leigh Matthews Trophy: the individual judged the Most Valuable Player by their peers.
And the names which Cripps joins are nothing short of Carlton - and footballing - royalty.
The previous three winners of the award in Navy Blue were Greg Williams (1994), Anthony Koutoufides (2010) and Chris Judd (2011).
12 — Across the AFL, there aren’t too many players more admired than Carlton’s co-captain.
In the eyes of the coaches, Cripps well and truly caught the attention, polling in 12 of his 20 games in the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year award.
That included four performances where he was rewarded with the perfect 10, coming in Rounds 4, 8, 12 and 19.
19 — When Carlton met Adelaide at the MCG in Round 19, Cripps produced numbers of the highest order.
It wasn’t just a career-best disposal tally for Cripps, who came away with 39 disposals in the 27-point win over the Crows.
It was his 19 clearances which were the most impressive: a feat which had been accomplished just twice before in the history of the game since the stat was recorded.
38 — It’s not every day where a 39-disposal, 19-clearance performance isn’t the standout performance of the season.
However, it’s hard to look beyond Cripps’ showing against Brisbane when it comes to the best individual showing of any player this year: particularly given the circumstances of the week.
In David Teague’s first game as coach, four goals in the second half to go with 38 disposals saw Cripps at his simply inspirational best. He was the undeniably the main man as the Blues overturned a 37-point deficit to prevail by 15 points.
100 — Alongside Dale Thomas, Cripps became the 175th centurion of the Carlton Football Club in Round 22.
The midfield bull brought up his century of games in the penultimate round of the season against St Kilda, which Carlton won by 10 points in front of over 51,000 people.
560 — For the second straight year, Cripps was ranked No.1 at Ikon Park for total disposals.
Eclipsing first-year Blue Sam Walsh in the final game, Cripps signed off with 560 disposals for the season after collecting 35 against Geelong in Round 23.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of Cripps’ possessions were hard-earned, with 340 of those coming in a contested situation.
2010 — Cripps is the first player since Judd nine years ago to become a multiple All Australian at the Carlton Football Club.
A mentor in Cripps’ first season at the Club, Judd was named in the All-Australian teams in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
