CARLTON co-captains Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty expressed their appreciation for the members and fans of the Carlton Football Club following the 2020 season.

In what has been a tumultuous year not only for the Club, but all of Australia, the skippers highlighted the hardships that Victorians have gone through and how much their support means to the whole playing group.

“It’s been a tough year but the whole motto of the world at the moment is ‘stick together and get through it’ and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Cripps said.

“We’d just like to thank you for your support, especially the members who’ve stayed signed up and helped keep the Club going forward.”

Despite not being able to have their usual fanbase present at games, the captains noted that the support from afar has not gone unnoticed.

“I just want to thank them all, it’s been a challenging year for everyone across the footy world and everyone more broadly and it’s been tough being back in Victoria and I hope we’ve been able to bring some sort of enjoyment to their weeks,” Docherty said.

“I can’t wait for next year, to have crowds back again, record membership numbers and massive crowds for Carlton with a group that’s up and coming, it’s bloody exciting for everyone involved.”

Both captains agreed that the group is dedicated to hard work and playing better footy for their fans next season.

“It wasn’t where we wanted to get this year but the amount of belief we’ve got as a group and the lessons we’ve learnt this year is going to hold us in good stead going forward and I know how hard this group is going to work and it’s only a matter of time before we’re playing in the big stuff,” Cripps said.

“We’ve got a really hard working group, a really tight knit group, we’ve got a lot of good people at the Carlton Football Club at the moment, we’re so driven to play successful football.”