No Brownlow Medallists get sleep on the night of their win but Patrick Cripps didn’t manage much the night before after racing home from the Greek Islands for the award ceremony.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II threw plans by the new king of Carlton to rest up out the window with the Brownlow brought forward a day to avoid a clash with her funeral.

In Santorini for a cousin’s wedding, Cripps only arrived back into Melbourne on Saturday night and had to power through until Monday with little or no sleep.

But after spending the night celebrating with family and friends with the Charlie Brownlow draped around his neck, a bleary-eyed Cripps said sleep could wait.

“I feel a bit jet-lagged now from staying up all night but sometimes you’ve got to do it – you don’t get moments like this much in your life so you’ve got to do it,” Cripps told reporters Monday morning after back-to-back interviews since 6am.

“Winning it is a moment I will look back on and be grateful to have that experience and it’s something I will cherish for a long time.”

In the whirlwind since his name was read out Cripps said he’d been inundated with text messages as well as celebratory videos from his brother and friends from his tiny hometown of Northampton, 500km north of Perth.

He said that Brisbane gun Lachie Neale, who he pipped by one vote after polling three in the final round, was one of the first to reach out.

There were no hard feelings despite Cripps being eligible after successful appealing a two-match ban.

“He said ‘welcome to the club,” Cripps said of Neale, who won the count in 2020.

“I was hoping for a tie to be honest – I’m good mates with Lachie so that would have been awesome.

“But he said he was happy for me and said he’d come and give me a big hug – he’s a ripper.”

Others in the “club” to reach out include former Blues skipper Chris Judd, who was the last Carlton player to win the award back in 2010 while he also won it in 2004 when playing for West Coast.

Cripps had also received a message from another Eagles superstar Ben Cousins, who won it in 2005 – although Cripps said he hadn’t had time to read their messages.

“I was an Eagles fan growing up, in an era where they were really successful,” the 27-year-old said.

“I chat to them a bit – saw Benny at last year’s Brownlow and I’ve always had a close relationship with Juddy so it’s great to get their support.”

“I still see myself as a young kid, a footy lover and you get moments like this, it doesn’t really sink in.

“You get young kids at Carlton training who look up to you and that’s pretty special – I was one of them.”