SOMETIMES Patrick Cripps will hear the call when he's warming up on game day, other times it will be in the street, but it always catches his attention and takes the star midfielder back to his Northampton origins. 

'Mooniemia' is the Aboriginal name for the region that Cripps calls home in the mid-west region of Western Australia, and it has always been a word that locals will use to express their pride in where they are from. 

Cripps has built his brilliant career in Melbourne as a dual Brownlow medallist and Carlton captain, but his Northampton roots remain strong and he will cherish the opportunity to represent the town when he leads WA in AFL Origin next year.

With the Black Swans on home turf at Optus Stadium on February 14 – and given Northampton's pride in its history of producing AFL footballers – Cripps can expect to hear plenty of calls from over the boundary to remind him where he is from. 

"Everywhere I go, if I hear someone yell out 'Mooniemia', it just automatically grabs my attention," Cripps told AFL.com.au. 

"It is the Indigenous word for Northampton, and just a word that a lot of us use [to show] we're proud to be from Northampton. 

"It's always been a word that people use in Northampton, but as I've chased my own journey, I've been out at Marvel Stadium or the MCG or Optus Stadium and heard the word. 

"You automatically look to the crowd to see if you recognise the person who's yelled it out. It's that sort of stuff that, as you get older, you appreciate it more." 

Cripps is one of nine AFL players from Northampton to be celebrated in a row of metal statues in the town, which has punched well above its weight when it comes to producing elite football talent. 

West Coast premiership players Josh Kennedy, Jamie Cripps and Daniel Chick all hail from the small farming town, as well as Fremantle great Paul Hasleby and Geelong dual premiership defender Harry Taylor. 

Inaugural Eagle Andrew Lockyer, former Collingwood defender Tarkyn Locker, ex-North Melbourne midfielder Liam Anthony, and former North Melbourne and Port Adelaide ruckman Brynn Teakle also called Northampton home. 

Cripps said he had no shortage of local heroes as he found his way as a junior player with the Northampton Rams, learning the value of community as he grew up around the club.

"Everyone just looks out for each other there, and I reckon I would have had about 10 of mum and dad's friends who were basically like my second parents," Cripps said.  

"We all grew up together and that's just what you do in the country, and I feel pretty lucky to have grown up in that community. We were pretty spoiled for people to look up to and that meant we were able to dream." 

As a dual Brownlow medallist and four-time All-Australian, Cripps is now the jewel in Northampton's crown, providing inspiration for local players. He hopes AFL Origin will be another avenue to capture the imagination of young footballers right across WA. 

"That's why I want to treat it the right way, because it doesn't matter who you support in the AFL, it will bring the whole state together," Cripps said.  

"Hopefully a lot of young footy players watch that and remember the game throughout their journey and, at some point, they want to do what we're doing on that day. 

"A lot of people have asked, 'How serious you got to take it?' I'm going to take it like a normal game, because I just think the pride to represent your state and bring a state together is special." 

Cripps said he was looking forward to learning more about his WA teammates and reconnecting with those he played alongside at under-18 level with WA, including Darcy Cameron, Tom Barrass and Charlie Cameron.

While football has taken him to the other side of the country, and opportunities to return to his hometown are hard to come by at the moment, the Carlton skipper said there was no doubt who he'd be representing on February 14. 

"I grew up on a farm in Northampton and that will never change," he said. 

"I don't get back much at the moment, just because it gets hard with the timings of our season, but post-footy I will definitely head out there a fair bit, especially in the autumn and the winter months when it's magic. 

"But I'll always be a Northampton country boy. That's something that never gets taken away from you."