There have been 675 AFL/VFL footballers to reach 200 games but few have been asked to do more or earned such universal admiration as Patrick Cripps. The remarkable thing is that he’s only played 200. It feels as if he’s been playing for ever. For those Carlton supporters who have been in the trenches with him from the beginning, who endured those turgid, post-Malthouse, pre-Covid games where he carried the entire midfield and club on his wallpapered shoulders, his milestone must feel like 400.
Players like Cripps always mean more to the supporter base. Matthew Richardson, Robbie Flower and Trevor Barker managed just half a dozen finals between them. But they were footballers who coaxed their fans off the ledge, who provided a glimmer of hope when things were dire, and who rank among the most beloved one-club players of all time.
