Cripps back as Blues wait on key pair for AFL final

Carlton will welcome back captain Patrick Cripps for their drought-breaking AFL elimination final but are sweating on the availability of key pair Jacob Weitering and Blake Acres.

The Blues will host Sydney at the MCG in their first finals appearance since 2013, having locked away fifth spot before Sunday’s 32-point defeat to GWS at Marvel Stadium.

Cripps (soreness) missed that match, during which Acres sustained a shoulder injury and Weitering came under scrutiny for making contact to Giants captain Toby Greene’s eye region.

Footage of the incident will be assessed by the league’s match review officer on Monday, with key defender Weitering facing a possible fine or even suspension.

“I haven’t actually had a look at it and I haven’t even bothered to have a look at it,” Blues coach Michael Voss told reporters post-match.

“I’m sort of comfortable with the commentary around it, so I’ll leave it at that.

“He’s pretty important – I think that’s probably stating the real obvious. He’s had a fantastic year.”

Acres was substituted out of the Giants clash after hurting his left shoulder during his third quarter.

The former Fremantle and St Kilda wingman has shone in his first season at the Blues, averaging a career-best 23.5 disposals, but could now miss the finals campaign.

“Early indication might not be great but we’ll assess that and hopefully get all the results by Tuesday,” Voss said.

Cripps will return for his first AFL finals appearance against Sydney after Sam Walsh, Adam Cerra, Mitch McGovern and Corey Durdin all came back from injury in the GWS loss.

Voss was pleased those players got through unscathed but felt the Giants exposed his side in some key areas as the Blues’ nine-match winning streak ground to a halt.

“What we’re trying to build is a system that will stand up in big moments and in big finals, and we feel like we’ve made massive inroads into that particular part of our game,” Voss said.

“Funnily enough some of that probably let us down (against GWS).

“Our defence and ability to be able to defend the turnover was pretty poor … but we’ve got the feedback we need to make sure that we correct it and put it back into place when we come to our first final.”