Cripps defends – Patrick Cripps says Carlton offers “the best of the best” in player welfare as the Blues cop a $75,000 AFL fine over Elijah Hollands’ on-field mental health episode at the MCG last month. Cripps’ comments come with Carlton facing the Western Bulldogs and inter
Patrick Cripps was blunt about why Carlton’s response to Elijah Hollands matters, insisting the club’s welfare setup is among the best available as the fallout from a national-television incident continues.
The Blues captain defended Carlton’s handling of Hollands’ on-field mental health episode after the AFL fined the club $75. 000 earlier this month over what happened during Carlton’s clash with Collingwood at the MCG on April 16.. Cripps, 31, said his focus is on helping teammates, not on the noise around the episode.
“It’s always hard when something like that does occur. You never want to see that in any form of life. You want to help people as much as you can,” Cripps told News Corp.
Cripps said Carlton players are backed by a high standard of support, pointing to the resources at the club’s disposal.
“We are so lucky as players… we [Carlton] get access to the best of the best, from high-performance [programs], medical and coaching. Since my time at Carlton, I couldn’t speak highly enough of how we get looked after and the welfare we get,” he said.
Cripps’ defence comes as questions lingered after the Collingwood game, with the AFL describing concerns about whether Hollands should have been removed from the field sooner.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said there were “visual cues and performance data” showing the footy star “should have been removed from play earlier than he was”.. Dillon added the failure to replace Hollands “brought the game into disrepute” and said the charge was directed at the club rather than individuals at Carlton.
“The incident has highlighted something important for our game: Whilst our physical injury protocols are strong and well-understood. mental health presentations can be variable and are complex. ” Dillon said.. “That means we need to continue to strengthen and standardise how we respond on match day to acute mental health episodes.”
Carlton accepted the penalty after it was delivered.. The club said the welfare of Hollands “continues to be their highest priority. ” while also stating its medical and wellbeing staff “conduct themselves with the highest level of professionalism and integrity.” Chief executive Graham Wright said Carlton would allow all parties to move forward.
“Our club medical and wellbeing staff conduct themselves with the highest level of professionalism and integrity,” Wright said.. “We accept the outcome in the interest of enabling all parties to move forward.. Elijah is taking the necessary time to prioritise his health and wellbeing right now and he will continue to do so with our full support.”
Hollands, 24, was hospitalised five days after the incident.
For Cripps, the timing is difficult. Carlton captain with two Brownlow Medals to his name, he is now approaching the twilight of his career and is desperate for sustained success, even as the Blues have struggled early in 2026 with just one win from nine games.
On-field, the pressure has only intensified: Carlton host the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night with interim coach Josh Fraser in charge for the rest of the campaign after the resignation of Michael Voss this week.
Patrick Cripps Carlton Elijah Hollands AFL fine Collingwood MCG mental health player welfare Josh Fraser Western Bulldogs Michael Voss