Mick Malthouse knew Patrick Cripps would be special simply by discovering who he was related to.
Chris Mainwaring starred in West Coast's first two premierships, coached by Malthouse, in 1992 and 1994.
The late Eagles great, who died tragically in 2007, is a first cousin of Cripps's father, Brad.
That was enough for Malthouse when Carlton were considering drafting Cripps, who grew up in the small Western Australian town of Northampton at the end of 2013.
"Our recruiting bloke said he's (Cripps) related to Chris Mainwaring," Malthouse told AAP.
"I thought 'whoa, I'm interested already.
"I just loved Chris. He was one of the great characters, unfortunately died too young, but a fabulous team man and I thought if you're related to him then there couldn't be too many things wrong with you.
"(At the draft) it was a toss up between these two - I'm not going to name the other player - but in my mind Patty was the one that we needed."
Malthouse's time at Carlton ended in 2015 - Cripps's second season at the club.
That year was a trainwreck for the Blues, sacking Malthouse after round eight as they finished 18th and last under caretaker coach John Barker.
But out of the darkness, Cripps shone.
After managing just three games in his debut season in 2014, the big-bodied midfielder emerged as a young star of the competition.
Cripps claimed the first of four John Nicholls medals and finished second in the Rising Star voting, behind now-GWS forward Jesse Hogan.
Just weeks after Cripps was anointed as Carlton's best player, the Blues topped up at the draft with Jacob Weitering, Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow.
Those four are now leading the club's charge to break a 29-year premiership drought, with Cripps to play his 200th game when Carlton clash with the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
"You know what you're going to get," Malthouse said of Cripps.
"You're going to get a very honest player, a hard working player, a club player, and a great leader.
"So all the things that you would hope for have come to fruition and all that he doesn't have next to his name now is a premiership.
"They're so hard to win, but they're the little hopes and aspirations you have for a bloke like him.
"He's so deserving of leading a team out and the back in with success so I hope it happens for him."
Malthouse recalls Cripps's improvement being rapid once he got into the AFL system.
The three-time premiership coach remembers kicking the ball around at training with former Carlton player Ed Curnow and a fresh-faced Cripps.
An 18-year-old Cripps struggled to make the 50m distance required.
But after his first year at Carlton, Cripps was comfortably kicking the ball more than that, consistently taking his game to new levels.
The 29-year-old, who became a first-time father to daughter Koda this year with wife Monique, is enjoying another superb season.
Cripps is well in contention to add a second Brownlow Medal to the one he collected in 2022.
But all Cripps is focused on is winning the club's 17th VFL/AFL premiership, and first since 1995.
"Individual stuff is definitely a reward for hard work, but I think you talk to any AFL player and reward and fulfilment comes from team success," he said.
"I listened to (Collingwood great) Scott Pendlebury talk last year, and he's obviously won a lot of individual awards, but that feeling you get from winning a premiership as a group, can't match that, and that's what every AFL player dreams of doing.
"A lot of us guys have been together for a long time now and we've gone through some really dark times.
"So to be in the position we are now, we really just want to enjoy it and keep levelling up."
