Cripps led from the front with 35 disposals and 10 clearances to have a huge say in the 17.12 (114) to 10.4 (64) victory on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium.
The powerful on-baller collected 18 contested possessions as the star in a blue-chip midfield that dominated the centre square.
Matthew Kennedy (24 disposals, 11 clearances), Adam Cerra (26 and six) and Sam Walsh (29 and four) all played key roles in the engine room.
Twin towers Harry McKay (four goals) and Charlie Curnow (three) proved a handful in attack and Adam Saad (25 disposals) was superb running off half-back.
North Melbourne's Jy Simpkin (22 disposals) and Bailey Scott (23) battled against the tide and Nick Larkey kicked three goals.
But the Kangaroos lost debutant Miller Bergman to a shoulder injury before halftime as they crashed to a fifth-straight defeat.
Carlton debutant Jack Carroll booted the first goal of the match with his first kick, nailing a quick snap from close range to trigger a five-goal opening term from the Blues.
They were given a scare before quarter time when ruckman Tom De Koning required treatment on a left foot injury, but he played out the match.
Cameron Zurhaar kicked two of North's three quick goals that levelled the scores early in the second term before the Blues broke the game open with a seven-goal third quarter.
Tempers flared several times after the main break and the intensity kicked up a notch when Liam Stocker landed a huge bump on North livewire Tarryn Thomas.
Jack Silvagni tangled with Jason Horne-Francis and Larkey may find himself in trouble with the match review officer for tunnelling Lewis Young.
Carlton got on with the job and key defender Jacob Weitering brought the navy blue faithful to their feet when he kicked a rare goal on the end of a 50-metre penalty.
There was a controversial moment during the third quarter when De Koning crashed into umpire Eleni Glouftsis as he went to accept a simple mark on the end of Carroll's pass.
Both went to ground, Glouftsis got up immediately, and the Kangaroos kicked a goal through Larkey from the turnover.
But the Blues led by 40 points at three-quarter time and hammered home their advantage in the final quarter.
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