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Skipper Patrick Cripps found the funny side of the training session.Credit: AFL Photos<\/p>\n
But if you parlay the review of that North Melbourne defeat into the vision of recent pre-season training drill that has gone viral \u2013 and the reaction of captain Patrick Cripps \u2013 questions need to be asked.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a quick summary.<\/p>\n
Last week, vision recorded by Blues fan and popular YouTuber Heath Buck attending open training circulated on social media. The video showed approximately 90 seconds of Carlton players attempting to complete a no-pressure kicking drill. The vision wasn\u2019t good. Scratch that. The vision was dreadful. There were targets being missed, chest marks being dropped and balls literally going over fences. On Tuesday, Cripps was at Triple M for an interview with Billy Brownless and his old mate Dale \u201cDaisy\u201d Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a funny story with that viral clip. There was one guy that wheeled on his left and put it three rows back \u2026 that may have been me,\u201d Cripps giggled.<\/p>\n
Cue raucous laughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily, there wasn\u2019t more vision of it because I did the same thing the second time.\u201d<\/p>\n
More laughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a \u2018players\u2019 culture day\u2019 the other day, and we just found the humour in it. It was one of the funniest things I\u2019ve seen, watching it back. Our Carlton supporters wouldn\u2019t have been pumped seeing that. It wasn\u2019t great footage, but we saw the humour in it. I did laugh very hard watching that video.\u201d<\/p>\n
A couple of things must be taken into account.<\/p>\n
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First, Cripps has been an extraordinary player for Carlton. Often carrying the weight of an entire club on his shoulders, his on-field leadership and individual performance have been beyond question. Whatever happens for the rest of his career, he will be remembered as one of the greatest players to pull on the navy-blue guernsey.<\/p>\n
Secondly, his reaction must be considered within the vacuum that is Carlton. This is a club that has been one of the most criticised organisations in Australian sport<\/a> since the turn of the millennium.<\/p>\n Outside of maybe Essendon (who won a flag in 2000) and the fading profile of the A-Leagues<\/a>, Carlton\u2019s troubles have been the major source of cruel comedy from sports fans around the country.<\/p>\n The outside noise surrounding the club<\/a> can, at times, be suffocating. So, if Cripps were to publicly condemn his teammates for poor training standards, it\u2019s plausible that it would do more harm than good.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n Still, Carlton fans listening to Cripps\u2019 interview in the car or watching it on YouTube would be hard-pressed to laugh along with their inspirational skipper.<\/p>\n
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