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Topic: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats? (Read 282 times) previous topic - next topic - Topic derived from AFL Rd 21 2026 Pre Ga...
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How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

One of the reasons I rate Cripps so highly is that he's done it in a pretty average side over the journey.

The other greats we talk about, with the possible exception of Judd, had a fair bit of talent around them.

Jezza, Nicholls, Doull, Johnson, Kernahan, Kouta, Williams, the bloke at St Kilda (nah, that's disrespectful...he is a Carlton great- Silvagni) and I've probably missed someone ::) ...all had some pretty good team-mates.

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #1 –
Quote from: Gointocarlton – on
Quote from: PaulP – on


When you think about the rubbish he has put up with, the fact that he basically never misses a game, all the personal awards, captaincy etc, he is IMO indisputably in top 5 greatest CFC players.

It's really quite a remarkable thing to watch a genuine champion of the club ply their trade in real time. Not stories from old timers about players from past decades, not grainy, low res b/w footage on YouTube, not history books, but the actual lived experience of watching one of the greats. Hopefully we all cherish these moments and never take them for granted.
So who's your top 5 Pauly? (IMO our top 10 to 15 would smash the top 5 of most clubs, we have been blessed over the journey)
I'll weigh in on this one, I've been going to games since the mid 60's.....

5:   Stephen Kernahan - a clutch leader and absolutely bleeds Navy Blue (still).

4:   Bruce Doull - I honestly believe he was the prototype of the modern defender.  Rarely beaten and always full-throttle.   

3:   Patrick Cripps - don't have to say any more.  Agree with the observation that he has had to carry the team (so did Nicholls in his early years).

2:   Alex Jesaulenko - could play anywhere and do absolutely mind-boggling things, and he didn't play the game until he was 14!

1:   John Nicholls - an absolute colossus.  His value to the team went far beyond disposals, tap-outs and goals.  He was truly feared by the opposition.

I reckon this sub-topic deserves its own thread!

Honorable mentions to Judd and Diesel (although they arrived at Princes Park as already-acknowledged champions).  And a little begrudgingly, SOS.
This is now the longest premiership drought in the history of the Carlton Football Club - more evidence of climate change?

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #2 –
Others that immediately come to mind: Southby, Bosustow, Bradley, Ken Hunter.

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #3 –
Milestone game hey!
2012 HAPPENED!!!!!!!

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Gointocarlton – on
So who's your top 5 Pauly? (IMO our top 10 to 15 would smash the top 5 of most clubs, we have been blessed over the journey)

In no particular order :
Cripps
Ken Hunter
Bruce Doull
John Nicholls
Sticks Kernahan

The list is restricted to players from my era, except maybe John Nicholls. Several others would also be worthy nominees.

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #5 –
Doull should have left footy with far more industry wide honours, I think his problem was that he was too boring for the media, the footy equivalent of a metronome, 100% reliable perfect timing, terrific ball use, game after game, rarely if ever genuinely beaten, the standard by which you measure everybody else, that's the tell for me.

 No fanfare, no histrionics, just go out do the job and then get ready for next week.

The media would rave about Southby, similar mould, so reliable, no waste, played on the glamours and usually beat them, terrific player, but 7 out of 10 times the pill never got that far forward because Doull had already killed it.

We've been lucky over the years, we had a swagger back then but it wasn't hubris, it was a confidence, we copped a lot in the media because the media was dominated by Filth and Feral loud mouths. But we never really boasted, we just got on with the job, for example Walls was the antithesis of Sheedy.

To me a lot of this started when Barassi arrived, he set a culture that lasted decades, admirably extended by Parkin.
"Extremists on either side will always meet in the Middle!"

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #6 –
Quote from: PaulP – on
Quote from: Gointocarlton – on
So who's your top 5 Pauly? (IMO our top 10 to 15 would smash the top 5 of most clubs, we have been blessed over the journey)

In no particular order :
Cripps
Ken Hunter
Bruce Doull
John Nicholls
Sticks Kernahan

The list is restricted to players from my era, except maybe John Nicholls. Several others would also be worthy nominees.


C Judd C Bradley, G Williams S Silvagni (FBOTC) W Johnston, one could go on and on. Naming a Carlton top 5 is THE most difficult and would be the most hotly debated topic in football.
2021-Pi$$ or get off the pot
2022- Real Deal or more of the same? 0.6%
2023- "Raise the Standard" - M. Voss Another year wasted Bar Set
2024-Back to the drawing boardNo excuses, its time
2025-Carlton can win the 2025 AFL Premiership

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: Lods – on
One of the reasons I rate Cripps so highly is that he's done it in a pretty average side over the journey.

The other greats we talk about, with the possible exception of Judd, had a fair bit of talent around them.

Jezza, Nicholls, Doull, Johnson, Kernahan, Kouta, Williams, the bloke at St Kilda (nah, that's disrespectful...he is a Carlton great- Silvagni) and I've probably missed someone ::) ...all had some pretty good team-mates.

I grew up watching John Nicholls play and his arrival at Carlton coincided with our weakest on-field period to date.  Big Nick virtually carried the team single handedly until Ron Barassi arrived and we added some very good players in Walls, Crosswell and Jesaulenko to some stalwarts in Goold, Lofts, Silvagni, Jones and Gallagher.

Hopefully, the back end of Crippa's career is similar to Big Nick's.
"Negative waves are not helpful. Try saying something righteous and hopeful instead." Oddball

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #8 –
Swan McKay was handy in that era.

I couldn't do a top 5, how do you rank one gun versus another?
DrE is no more... you ok with that harmonica man?

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #9 –
Realistically you could create a handful of Top 5 lists and they would all be objectively correct.

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #10 –
The problem with placing Cripps in a "best of" is.... we all come to the task from different age groups, or length of time following Carlton
If you've been a supporter for the last ten years I'd dare say Cripps would be Number 1.
If you've been following the club since 1968 he'd probably slip a few spots in the draft order.
It'd be the same as me trying to make a case that Jesaulenko was a better full forward than 'Soapy' Vallence without having ever seen the latter play.

And it's probably fair to say that some of our 'heroes of old' grow a few inches, and kick a few yards further with the passage of time (yep, the imperial measures were used on purpose).

We tend to remember our favourite players like a 'highlight' reel.
We don't remember the ordinary games, partly because when the important games came they rarely let us down.
Some of the younger members of the site are probably a bit tired of some of the same old names being trotted out because to them it's 'history' rather than an "experience"

Our team of the century was announced on 20th May 2000.
It doesn't include a player who was in the early stages of one of the greatest seasons in Carlton history in Koutoufides.
Since that team was announced there has been constant debate about who would replace some of the players in a greatest ever Carlton side.
Kouta is usually a walk up start (I'd have him in), Judd's another, Fev at Full forward?
But the ones to go out are often older players like Vallence or Deacon and James--both Brownlow medallists
The team of the 20th century should probably stay just that.

We're probably a bit caught up in what's happening with the football and coaching at the moment...but an interesting thread activity in the off season might be a "Top ten players of the 2000s" or even a team of players covering the same period.
Most of us would have seen all the players play and while it may not match the 20th century side the debate would give everyone a fair point to judge without the barrier of time.






 

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Professer E – on
Swan McKay was handy in that era.

I couldn't do a top 5, how do you rank one gun versus another?
My exact point Prof. I'd hazard a guess and say we argue all day long over top 20 let alone a top 5. I always say it, we have been blessed with more of the the best to play the game than any other club. Look at the TOTC.
Crippa is up there, not sure about top 5 even with his two Brownlows.
2021-Pi$$ or get off the pot
2022- Real Deal or more of the same? 0.6%
2023- "Raise the Standard" - M. Voss Another year wasted Bar Set
2024-Back to the drawing boardNo excuses, its time
2025-Carlton can win the 2025 AFL Premiership

Re: How does Crippa rank among the panoply of Carlton greats?

Reply #12 –
I'm not as old as most, so i'm choosing from mid/late 80's onwards.

Kouta
Diesel
Silvagni
Cripps
Kernahan

As good as Cripps is, his poor kicking drops him down the order for me.