Carlton captain and star midfielder Patrick Cripps has opened up on the excitement surrounding the Blues as they enter a new era at Ikon Park under Michael Voss.
Cripps believes that the new additions ofย Adam Cerra and George Hewett and the emergence of starย Sam Walsh has helped with the squad's depth, especially in the midfield.
The 27-year old also lauded the team culture that has developed under Voss where there is no sole reliance on one player.
"'Vossy' talks about not relying on one player and it's a team thing and we want to be a connected footy team. I think we saw that against the Dees," Cripps told AFL Mediaย on Wednesday.
DOWNLOAD NOW: Zero Hanger 2022 AFL Season Guide
"Although it was the pre-season you still want to play the right way and play consistent footy and build trust with one another and 'Georgey' and Cerra have come in and been awesome for us and you see someone like 'Matty' Kennedy play and he was unbelievable the other night.
"Walsh comes back, Paddy Dow has had a really good pre-season, he's ready to go. There's a lot of moving parts but there's going to be injuries throughout the year and we have a bit of depth there now so if they can come in and do their job and play some high-level footy it would be good."
The Blues will be without Walsh for the opening match against Richmond next Thursday with a syndesmosis injury, but the skipper believes he is on the right track and will be back sooner rather than later.
"He's good. He's a freak. Like anything he does, he does it diligently and he works bloody hard so we'll see him pretty early on," Cripps said of his engine room partner.
The three-time winner of the John Nichols Medal went on to pull the curtain back on Walsh's rehabilitation program.
"With those syndesmosis and high ankle sprains you never know, it's sort of a dirty word in the footy world these days. A lot of people get them," Cripps continued.
DOWNLOAD NOW: Zero Hanger 2022 AFL Season Guide
"We'll see him in the first month, when that is who knows. If you ask him, he's chomping at the bit for round one but I'd say it would be some time in the first month. He'll be ramping it up pretty soon."
Along with the young star's return, Cripps is hoping he can get back to his 2019 form that saw him claim an All-Australian, club best and fairest and the AFL Players MVP.
The Perth native has enjoyed an impressive pre-season that was capped off by a best on ground performance in their final pre-season hit out against reigning premiers Melbourne last week, collected 30 disposals whilst kicking four goals.
"Every year you always look at ways to get better and you feel better athletically and if you get a clean run you feel pretty strong. I feel pretty similar to that year and the way we played last weekend was some good footy so if we can keep doing that it will be fun to play," Cripps said.
Cripps will lead Carlton out onto the MCG next Thursday to play Richmond in their season opener, as they look to break a streak of nine straight round one losses against the Tigers.
