Carlton captain Patrick Cripps is studying psychology and says he is using his degree to help keep the players together, as the under-fire Blues attempt to overcome a winless start to the season.
The Blues are under enormous pressure heading into Thursday night’s blockbuster against Collingwood at the MCG.
History suggests their September dreams may already be over; only four of 54 teams since 2007 that have started 0-3 have recovered to make the finals.
Mind games: Carlton captain Patrick Cripps is studying psychology. The Blues hope to turn their season around against the Magpies on Thursday.Credit: AFL Photos
At the annual Peter Mac Cup breakfast, Cripps revealed his post-graduate degree was helping his captaincy.
“You talk about psychology, any job you do, the higher you go up the more you are dealing with people, isn’t it? I love to try and help maximise and get as much out of people around me, especially young guys coming through,” said Cripps, who also has a business degree.
“I know the impact older guys had on me when I was younger. I felt that accelerated my development.
“From a leadership perspective, throughout the year, how do you manage the group motivationally, energy, adversity, they are things that all apply. ”
Veteran half-back Sam Docherty said the Blues remained bullish about the season ahead.
“We haven’t started the season as well as we would like. That’s pretty evident … but, we as a footy club, are pretty bullish on what we can do and when we are playing our good footy that it stands up, stands up in the big moments, and big games and big finals,” Docherty said.
However, he acknowledged the Blues needed to improve their game style, and that poor disposal had been an issue in defeats against Richmond, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs.
“It’s multi-faceted, to be honest. There are the options, and providing the system that gives the ball carrier the best opportunity to hit the targets, and provide targets for them to hit. But, it’s also with the guy with ball in hand, having some composure, which, when the pressure comes with big games, it’s a tough thing to do,” Docherty said.
“We are working through it on both sides – being the ball carrier, and being the options to be able to assist in making easy decisions for them.
“It’s not like that we can’t do it. We worked really hard over the pre-season, but for whatever reason at the start of the season, we have gone away from playing it consistently through games.”
The Blues have faded after half-time in each of their defeats, outscored by a combined 89 points after the main break.
“The back-end of games, we haven’t been playing the way we should be, offensively definitely, and that contributes to speeding up the other team,” Docherty said.
Key forward Harry McKay took part in a VFL intra-club match on the weekend, and could yet play on Thursday, a club spokesperson said.
McKay has missed the past two games for personal reasons.
Docherty said McKay and teammate Elijah Hollands, also dealing with personal issues, were “going well”.
Back on the park: Harry McKay made his return through a VFL scratch on the weekend.Credit: Getty Images
“Both are at the footy club, both training, the conversations I have had with them, they are both in a really good spot. So, understand it’s never linear though, so you never know what’s around the corner with mental health stuff,” Docherty said.
McKay and Hollands attended the breakfast at the MCG.
Cripps, averaging a team-high 30 disposals per game, appeared sore after the stinging loss to the Bulldogs, but insisted a shortened six-day break between games was not an issue.
“I actually like six-day breaks because you don’t actually train twice throughout the week,” Cripps joked.
“Sometimes you actually feel better after six-day breaks. Five-day breaks push it a little bit, but I feel with six, you actually feel at your best.”
Having completed his opposition analysis on Saturday during his team’s bye, Collingwood coach Craig McRae insisted the Blues were dangerous, pointing to their second overall ranking across the league in clearances and retaining the ball in their forward half.
The Magpies hope to be boosted by the return of Brody Mihocek (back soreness).
They have beaten the Blues in five of their last six games, including two thrillers last year, by six points and by three.
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