He’s now a record-breaking dual Brownlow medallist, but Patrick Cripps is also one of the remarkable 11 AFL players to hail from the tiny Western Australian town of Northampton.
The Carlton captain made history by polling 45 votes last night, smashing the previous record of 36 held by Tigers star Dustin Martin and Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines.
“In one way it’s surprising how good he’s going,” brother Dan said.
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“But in another way it’s not because I guess the more you put in, the more you put out…
“I’ve never met anyone who’s so disciplined, you could almost call it obsessed with getting the best out of himself.”
Cripps’ journey to the game’s highest individual honour began almost 4000km away from Melbourne in Northampton, with a population of less than 900 people.
“Our community back home is pretty special,” he said.
“It’s a big reason a lot of football players have come out of there…
“The only medal we haven’t won as a town is the Norm Smith, it’s something we take a bit of pride in as a town.”
Northampton has produced an all-star cast of AFL players, including Cripps and cousins Jamie, Tarkyn and Andrew Lockyer, Daniel Chick, Paul Haselby, Liam Anthony, Harry Taylor, Josh Kennedy, and the latest duo, Brynn and Julie Teakle, leading some to ask what’s in the water?
“Lots of lead,” Kennedy joked.
“We were built around a lead mine.”
Whatever the recipe is, it’s working.
“Seeing the kids that have got Patrick Cripps’ number on his back and they love it,” Kennedy said.
“Knowing that they could be doing that one day, it’s pretty cool to see.”
This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.