Carlton Captain Praises Departing Coach
Carlton’s captain, Patrick Cripps, has expressed high praise for the outgoing coach, Michael Voss, during a day filled with drama at Blues headquarters. Arriving at the club on Tuesday morning, Cripps addressed the media and spoke highly of Voss, calling him a “great mentor” and “great coach.” He added, “He just let me know before everyone else found out. Our relationship is really strong.”
The admiration for Voss was not limited to Cripps. Brisbane coach Chris Fagan also commended the departing Voss, who is considered a legend of the Lions. Voss played 289 games for the club between 1992 and 2006, winning the 1996 Brownlow Medal, and coached from 2009 to 2013. His final game as Carlton’s coach was against Brisbane, where the Blues managed to reverse their fading trend by coming from 49 points down to within 11 points late in the game.
Fagan remarked, “I thought they played well. We’ve had some great battles with Carlton over the last three or four years when ‘Vossy’ has been coach. They have won a few, we’ve won a few so it was no surprise to me it ended up a pretty tough contest the other night. I was hopeful that would be a turning point for Carlton and give them a bit of confidence. I wasn’t expecting Michael would resign this week.”
He continued, “Personally, I find him a fantastic bloke. He’s obviously a legend of our football club. If you talk about the Brisbane Lions, there’s two people who are legends of Brisbane in my eyes: Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss for all they did in the 2000s. I wanted to see him do well with his coaching and I always get disappointed when I see coaches get sacked. I don’t know what it was in this instance, I just wish him all the best. I hope he’s not lost to footy, he’s always welcome at our club.”
Rival Coach Comments on Interim Challenges
Fagan also addressed the absence of Lincoln McCarthy from the grand final rematch against Geelong due to a hamstring injury. He mentioned that Jarrod Berry and Darcy Gardiner still have work to do at training to prove their fitness. Additionally, Fagan downplayed the idea of the Cats clash being a grand final rematch.
“The grand final was a long time ago. You move on pretty quickly. For us, whenever we play Geelong, there is a healthy rivalry built out of respect,” Fagan said. “We’ve played a lot of big games against each other. Both teams have had success and failures in those games. I expect our players will rise to the occasion because they understand the importance of it. It’s not really anything to do with the grand final, it’s just when we’re playing Geelong, we want to do well and I’m pretty sure when they play against us, they feel the same way.”
Key Points Summary
- Patrick Cripps praised Michael Voss as a “great mentor” and “great coach.”
- Chris Fagan, Brisbane’s coach, acknowledged Voss’s legacy as a player and coach.
- Voss’s final game as Carlton’s coach was against Brisbane, where the Blues showed improvement.
- Fagan expressed disappointment at Voss’s resignation and wished him well.
- Lincoln McCarthy is ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
- Jarrod Berry and Darcy Gardiner need to prove their fitness.
- The upcoming match against Geelong is seen as a competitive game rather than a grand final rematch.
