Cripps has been below his best as Carlton have lost three of their last four games.
Carlton coach Michael Voss insists his team is not over-reliant on star midfielder Patrick Cripps and that the Blues’ current form dip isn’t anything to be overly concerned about. Voss’s men led Port Adelaide by 31 points in the second quarter on Friday night – only to slip to a 14-point defeat at Marvel Stadium.
Carlton faded badly off a five-day break, going down 11.13 (79) to 9.11 (65) as questions were raised about their midfield and title credentials as they attempt to cling to their AFL top-four finals hopes. The Blues have lost three of their past four matches as the likes of Cripps, Sam Walsh and George Hewett again lost the midfield battle. Cripps registered just 25 disposals and made five tackles, all below his season average as he failed to take control of the game like many are accustomed to him doing.
But Voss isn’t overly worried about his star man or the trajectory of his team, saying it will only make them a better team in the long run as they look forward to the finals. “It’s not a concern. It’s a challenge though,” Voss said.
“I’ll back the men in that are in there though. They’re competitive and they’re always looking to get better and the one thing I know they don’t like is losing. They don’t like losing a contest, let alone four points. But we’ve got to acknowledge we got beaten in there today. Don’t say that often.
“And it’s not me putting that on them. It’s just that that’s the fact and that’s the story of the game. And so we have to accept the story for what it is and we have to get better.”
