The West Coast Eagles farewell another 2018 premiership hero this weekend, with Northampton product Jamie Cripps announcing his immediate retirement and plans to return to Geraldton in the near future.
Cripps revealed his decision on Tuesday after 16 years and 277 games in the AFL, after an unfortunate knee injury sustained in the WAFL drew curtains on his season and a remarkable yet often unheralded career.
The 34-year-old kicked 323 goals in his career, which began with 16 games for St Kilda before he moved back to WA to play for West Coast.
Cripps has since revealed he will be making another move soon, which will see him return home to the Mid West now his playing days are over.
“We’re building a house up in Geraldton at the moment so we’re looking to move up there soon,” he told the Eagles’ Coast to Coast podcast.
“I’m hoping to get in with an agricultural company working with Nutrien Ag, who I’ve been doing ambassador stuff with for the last couple of years, seeing farmers and a bit of country week footy stuff.
“It’s been on my mind for the last four to five years. I tossed it up to the missus, and she didn’t shut it down straight away, and she’s become great friends with everyone up from that way, so I’m looking forward to it.”
In Tuesday’s announcement, Cripps reflected on his career as a “fun ride”.
“It’s been an awesome 14 years and a privilege to play for a great club like West Coast,” Cripps said.
“To play so long and play with some amazing players along the way as well, it’s just been such a fun ride.
“My family make me tick and they’re who I do it for, so to have their support over the years has been massive.
“Now I’m ready for my knee to start feeling better so I can run around with the kids and see what their journey might be, which I’m looking forward to.”
From humble beginnings in the farming town of Northampton, Cripps has flown the flag for the town with pride and never forgotten his roots.
Back home, Cripps’ mother Lisa Cripps said the family was immensely proud of him and his career.
“He started as a skinny little country boy running around with the other players up here and he’s made his way through the top level, starting at St Kilda and then he came back to the Eagles and he’s done very well on and off field,” she said.
“He’s got a beautiful family and we’re really proud of what he’s achieved, and we’re happy for him to be moving on to the next part of his life.
“It was disappointing (to end with an injury) and definitely we were hoping that he would maybe get back, but it became quite clear that he just couldn’t and he’d pushed his body probably to its limit.
“We’ll miss not seeing him running around but it comes to an end for everybody.”
Renowned as a selfless role player, Cripps was an integral part of West Coast’s 2018 flag success and was widely regarded for his tenacity and ability to apply defensive forward-half pressure.
Fellow premiership forward Mark LeCras described Cripps as fiercely loyal on and off field.
“If you’re going into battle, he’s the person that you want alongside you,” LeCras told The West Australian.
“You know exactly what you’re going to get. He’s not going to back down. He’ll stand up for you.”
Cripps’ career was nothing short of impressive — finishing sixth on the Eagles’ all time goal-kicking list with 323 goals and third in tackles with 1004.
He also retires as the club’s leader in goal assists with 188 since the stat was first recorded in 2003 — a testament to the kind of player Cripps was.
“He’s just been consistent through every aspect of his game and his career over that whole journey,” said LeCras.
“He’s understated and as much as he’d be disappointed to go out being injured, just having a quiet retirement in the background, not having to rush back and try and get a send off game or anything like that, no fuss, he’d be happy with that, to go out on his own terms and quietly.
“He never really searched for the limelight. It was just the consistent team stuff that he was known for.
“He had a hard edge and what you see is what you get. Exactly the way he played footy, he was like that as a teammate.
“Just very honest. He showed up, did everything that needed to be done at the highest level.
“He always pushed himself and if there was a hard conversation that needed to be had he wasn’t shy.”
Cripps told the West Coast Eagles’ website the best part of his career was “going into the club everyday and doing it with 40 of your good mates, putting in the hard work, getting to the weekends and playing games”.
His resilience and character also shone through having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes one week before being drafted by St Kilda. Throughout his career, Cripps had successfully managed his condition, which LeCras said was remarkable.
“He’s inspired kids and other adults that have been diagnosed with it. It shows you can still be successful and live a pretty normal, fulfilling life with diabetes,” he said.
Ms Cripps said her son had showed a lot of character, resilience and determination in his career.
“He was a talented child but he’s worked hard because it takes more than talent. It takes a lot of hard work to get where he’s got,” she said.
“We would see how hard he would work everyday, just running up and down and often not rewarded, but he just kept it up.
“He did what he was asked to do for the team. Every now and again he got a few accolades, but it was always the team comes first.
“Obviously the grand final was the ultimate; he’s done us all proud.”
Cripps’ journey into his professional career begun in the iconic green and gold guernsey belonging to the Northampton Football Club and throughout his career, he’s showed much pride in coming from Rams country.
The town is equally as proud, having immortalised him in a metal, life-sized cut-out along Hampton Road alongside his cousin Patrick Cripps, fellow 2018 premiership teammate Josh Kennedy and Geelong star Harry Taylor as well as five other AFL players hailing from the tiny town.
Patrick Cripps paid tribute via social media to the his older cousin, writing “Huge career big fella” in an Instagram story.
Closer to home, Northampton club president Anthony Jupp said it was bittersweet to see Cripps’ career end but was proud of what he had achieved.
“It’s sad to see but he’s had a great career, so he’s got the main thing — a premiership medal which most people would want in their career,” he said.
“To play that many games and come from a small town in Northampton, that’s an awesome effort.”
Cripps has spent much of his career alongside fellow Northampton product Kennedy, which he regards as being one of his fondest memories.
“I was stoked to play a lot of games with him; it was pretty special,” Cripps said.
“He’s a club and AFL great, a person I looked up to from Northampton from a distance and then to play in the forward line with him was awesome,” he said.
Kennedy and Taylor’s return to Northampton Football Club post their AFL careers was etched into GNFL folklore with the duo playing a key role in bringing flag glory back to the club after a 19-year drought in 2023.
While Cripps is still currently recovering from the knee injury sustained earlier this year, Jupp also said it would be a huge “moral booster” for the club, if he decided to play for Northampton in the future.
“We sort of need someone like that desperately,” he said.
“We’ve had a couple of years that we haven’t won many games, but I think that our young youth coming through — the colts, and the juniors would get a kick out of playing with someone like Jamie.
“Just the experience of it, and seeing him in action and how he trains. That would be awesome for our club and our juniors.”
Ms Cripps said her son was looking forward to the move back to Geraldton.
“That’ll be good because he’s still got family up here and obviously lots of friends from when he was at school up here, so it will be good for him to start the next phase,” she said.
After Cripps’ departure, Elliot Yeo, Tom Cole and Liam Duggan are the three remaining 2018 premiership Eagles still playing at West Coast. Tom Barrass, Liam Ryan and Jack Darling are playing with other clubs.
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