Carlton followers, don’t have any worry – the additional padding round Patrick Cripps’ ribs is nothing greater than a precaution.
The Blues’ captain and famous person midfielder sat out the final home-and-away spherical with soreness and was beneath his sensible greatest within the elimination ultimate win over Sydney.
But coach Michael Voss has declared Cripps “100 per cent fit” to tackle Melbourne in Friday night time’s do-or-die semi-final on the MCG.
“Don’t worry about the pillow that’s under his jumper. He’s fine, he’s ready to go,” Voss instructed reporters on Thursday.
“There’s a precautionary measure there to ensure that nothing repeats itself but he’s right to go.”
Cripps had 21 disposals and kicked a objective in final Friday’s elimination ultimate however struggled to hit his standard highs below the shut watch of Sydney’s Callum Mills.
It was the 28-year-old Brownlow medallist’s first AFL finals look after a decade within the competitors.
Cripps’ muscular body and bullocking type are made for finals soccer however Voss – a tough-as-nails contributor within the Brisbane Lions’ well-known hat-trick of flags – does not count on something out of the peculiar from his skipper.
“His job is to get his job done and play his role,” Voss stated.
“We know at times that will have some brilliance attached to it, but that’s not our expectation.
“The energy of this crew has been that loads of gamers have been actually clear on their roles and we have had some people which have stepped up which might be unheralded in loads of methods.
“That might not be spoken about externally but it’s certainly spoken about a lot internally. That’s what we’ll continue to value.”
Carlton have received 10 of 11 outings heading into the semi-final but begin underdogs in opposition to Melbourne, who had been overwhelmed by Collingwood in a qualifying ultimate final week.
The fourth-ranked Demons completed the home-and-away marketing campaign two-and-a-half video games away from the Blues in fifth.
The two sides cut up a pair of low-scoring encounters one apiece, with Carlton slim four-point winners of their most up-to-date assembly, in spherical 22.
“It’s going to take our absolute best to be able to get this job done,” Voss stated.
“They’ve shown a level of consistency across the season that says they’re a genuine threat, and they’ve been premiership favourites at different stages.
“We know what we’re strolling into and it’ll take our greatest to have the ability to get the job carried out.”
Both sides have been forced to rejig their line-up, with Carlton recalling Matthew Kennedy and promoting Jesse Motlop from the sub role in a smaller-looking attack.
They replace key forward Harry McKay (concussion) and Jack Martin (suspended).
Melbourne have introduced in Adam Tomlinson, James Jordon and Charlie Spargo, with Angus Brayshaw (concussion) and Jacob van Rooyen (suspended) unavailable and Michael Hibberd omitted.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
