Carlton president Luke Sayers has called on the Blues to be “relentless and humble”, on a night captain Patrick Cripps joined two greats of the club in becoming a four-time John Nicholls medallist.
Cripps, the newly crowned Brownlow medallist, capped a superb season by claiming the Blues’ best and fairest, joining Bruce Doull (four) and Nicholls (five) as the only men to have won the award at least four times.
What a year: Patrick Cripps won his fourth John Nicholls medal, capping a fine season when he was crowned Brownlow medallist. Credit:AFL Photos
The robust midfielder polled 181 votes, including five best-on-ground performances, one being the shattering one-point loss to Collingwood in round 23 which denied the Blues a finals berth, to edge Sam Docherty (173) and Sam Walsh (163) for the top award.
Coach Michael Voss said Cripps, still yet to play in a final after nine seasons, was building an impressive legacy, having also won the medal in 2015, ’18 and ’19.
“Only two other players have done what Patrick has in the 158 years of our football club. That tells you a lot about the legacy he is building at Carlton,” Voss said.
“The biggest part of his legacy though is what most people don’t see. The work he does as a
leader, to set standards and drive those standards to ultimately have us in a position to be
successful over the coming years – that is infectious across the entire football club.
Sam Docherty was battling testicular cancer this time last year but on Friday night finished runner-up in the John Nicholls medal count.Credit:Getty Images.
“Patrick is incredibly driven to see us succeed and, while it’s not individual awards that
motivate him, to be a four-time John Nicholls medallist, equalling one of the all-time greats in Bruce Doull, that is an achievement that deserves to be celebrated.”
Cripps averaged 28 disposals, 15 contested possessions and eight clearances a game, missing only one game for the season after a frustrating two years. He also booted a career-high 20 goals.
Docherty’s return from a second bout of testicular cancer was a heart-warming tale, and he was a calming influence across half-back and when sent into the midfield. He did not begin pre-season training until the middle of January, yet he still went on to rank elite across the competition for average disposals (28.4), marks (7.3), tackles (3.3) and metres gained (510).
Cripps also received the coaches’ award and players’ award, but what he craves the most is team success, the Blues missing September this season only by percentage.
Sayers said the Blues must continue to build to return to the finals for the first time since 2013.
“Progress has been made these last 12 months, but the satisfaction is certainly not there. Everybody associated with our football club understands where we want to get to but no one is just going to hand it to us, we need to take it,” he said.
“The only way this football club achieves the success we are all striving for is by remaining
united, staying committed and understanding our shared responsibility to be relentless and
humble in our pursuit of sustained excellence.”
Walsh, averaging more than 32 possessions a game, top three in the competition, embraced the added responsibilities of being a co-vice-captain, but missed the pivotal clash against the Magpies because of injury. Corey Durdin was named the best young player.
2022 John Nicholls Medal leaderboard
1. Patrick Cripps 181 votes
2. Sam Docherty 173 votes
3. Sam Walsh 163 votes
4. Charlie Curnow 149 votes
5. George Hewett 125 votes
6. Adam Saad 124 votes
7. Harry McKay 123 votes
8. Zac Fisher 117 votes
9. Matthew Kennedy 111 votes
10. Adam Cerra 105 votes
2022 award winners:
The Carltonians Award: Patrick Cripps
Spirit of Carlton Award: Sam Docherty
Bill Lanyon Inner Blue Ruthless Award: Patrick Cripps
Best Young Player Award: Corey Durdin
Best Clubman Award: Nic Newman
Coaches Award: Patrick Cripps
Players’ Award: Patrick Cripps
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