Many players within the AFL are unfairly judged and often criticism can be harsh in the world of footy.
Bryce Gibbs is an interesting case study as his reputation appears somewhat mixed from not only Carlton supporters but opposition and pundits alike.
Is he a star, a good player, an average player or a dud? When it is all said and done will Gibbs be considered a success story at Carlton?
Like many before him, Gibbs had immediate pressure on him by virtue of the fact he was drafted with the number one pick. Gibbs certainly didn’t join Carlton at the proudest moment in the club’s history.
Drafted at the end of 2006 the Blues were at their lowest ebb coming off a wooden spoon finish in 2006. Following salary cap breaches earlier in the decade many felt Carlton could be looking at an extended period at the foot of the table.
It would take until 2009 for Carlton to qualify for finals. Carlton finished outside top eight
in 2014 and missed the finals for the second consecutive year last year finishing last. This would spell the end of coach Mick Malthouse who was sacked before season’s end.
During some of the tougher times some media pundits thought if Carlton were looking to overhaul the squad then someone like Gibbs might fetch the club a quality draft pick if traded. Gibbs however remained committed to Carlton.
This loyalty cannot be dismissed, it would have been very easy at different times to leave a struggling club.
New coach Brendan Bolton will be looking for the experienced players in the Carlton squad to stand up and provide leadership during the rebuilding process. Bryce Gibbs is one such player, at 27 years of age and having now played 189 games, who fits the bill.
The first two games of the season have seen Gibbs play an important role picking up 30 and 25 disposals with assured skills on display. The value Gibbs provides as a utility that can play all over the field cannot be underestimated.
Previously Gibbs has been accused of getting easy ball across half back but there is a time and place when a team will want the ball in the hands of those who make good decisions and use the ball well such as Bryce Gibbs.
The career statistics for Gibbs certainly seem good on paper. Entering his 10th season Gibbs has an average of 22.2 disposals per game. Gibbs has also been a very durable player during this period, playing over 20 games in eight out of nine seasons.
He is a player who gets the ball, has good skills and not missed many games of football. Every player is different and many don’t play with a particularly high level of aggression. So is Gibbs harshly judged?
It seems a lot of criticism was born after an incident when Gibbs apparently ‘squibbed’ a contest against St Kilda. But he is certainly not the first nor will he be the last to be involved in a football contest at less than full throttle.
It is difficult to measure toughness, but averaging just under four tackles a game would Gibbs has no issue with the hard stuff when required.
Gibbs is in line to play his 200th game this season. He already has a best and fairest award to his name along with another two top-three finishes.
Gibbs will become a life member of Carlton and still has three years left on his contract.
Sounds like a successful AFL career has been achieved, despite some of the knockers.
mattyb
Guest
Fair comment FSOTS. It is almost impossible to name all the Victorian centric decisions that go on in this supposedly national league. I'm expecting it to be a major talking point very soon,hopefully as soon as this season. Hoping you will jump on board and comment further as this topic is mentioned more and more as the season progresses. It is the AFL not VFL and the SANFL has a rich and proud history like many leagues throughout our nation.
Arthur Fonzarelli aka 'The Fonz'
Guest
Nathan Buckley was the most over-rated player in the history of sports. Maybe Steve Waugh was up there as well.
fair suck of the sav
Guest
Should have been a crow. The father son rule of 200 games for fathers before a certain year and excluding pre-season games was a vfl centric con.
Macca
Guest
Mattyb - Carlton in 2012 won 11 games, 2013 won 11 games, 2014 they won 7 games and 2015 4 games - this is after playing finals from 2009 to 2011 - the longer Malthouse had the cattle the worse they got, plus Malthouse got r,I'd of a lot of the best cattle. Winning 3 premierships in 30 years doesn't make you infallible.
mattyb
Guest
Three time premiership coach Malthouse was coaching in 2014. Great and fair comments Dougie. Three time Premiership coach Malthouse got the best out of some players but was let down by others. He could only use the cattle at his disposal and leaders certainly need to be versatile. Leaders should be able to play a variety of roles,to suggest otherwise is not correct.
macca
Guest
Liam - Just checked that 2014 West Coast game, no Judd, Murphy, Curnow, Bell or Carrazzo (cripps and Ellard also missed) so fair effort from Gibbs.
macca
Guest
Malthouses game plan crucified Murphy (180cm 80kg player being forced constantly into contested stoppages) for pretty much his entire stint at Carlton, Gibbs being bigger didn't suffer as much but Malthouses style also seemed to devolve - in 2015 Gibbs appeared under instruction simply to win the clearance and bomb it forward to no one. Ryan noted this devolution just a couple of weeks ago.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Wasn't Malthouse coaching in 2014? I thought some Carlton supporters have been suggesting Malthouse's gameplan crucified Gibbs, but you say 2014 was his best year.
macca
Guest
I think you are confused again Liam - Gibbs didn't play that final Murphy did (23 possessions, 2 goals and 8 tackles) as did Judd (17 possessions 7 tackles) but Gibbs & Kreuzer missed (Gibbs got injured late in the win of the bombers the week before in which he kicked 3 goals). You maybe think of the Blues 2014 win against West Coast where he got 24 touches and laid 11 tackles. Gibbs best game IMO opinion was the 2014 loss to Geelong - 29 touches, 4 goals 6 tackles.
Liam
Guest
In his best season - 2014 - Gibbs came damn close to winning a few games almost completely by himself, kicking key goals when they needed to be kicked, and rising to the occasion when no-one else did. That is not to mention the final over in West Coast where Carlton played without Murphy, Judd and Kreuzer and he nearly willed his team over the line. Gibbs, in another team, would have been the sort of player who is not the best, but the one who does the best things most consistently. Burgoyne is the perfect player to contrast, because they both perform roughly the same sort of role for their sides; Burgoyne is the better player right now, but playing for Hawthorn is like that.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Grrrr... Posting issues..... Long story short- I don't think at this stage of his career he's a STUD or SPUD. He's a very good player, that probably at times been a STUD but also been a SPUD on occasions. It's far from a finished story though....
Liam
Guest
Sorry, confused Murphy's broken cheekbone with his broken collarbone. Both occurred in the same season.
macca
Guest
It isn't stats Winston - it is a massive oversimplification, for a start it doesn't factor in teams needs - Wetiering, Schache, Oliver & Parish all are vastly different players filling different needs for the teams that recruited them - had Brisbane finished bottom odds are Schache still would have gone to Brisbane and Weitering to Carlton.
Winston
Guest
I'm simply stating it as a matter of stats. Of course I'm not saying every draft number 1 will be Riewoldt, but I am saying based on numbers alone they should be top 10.
macca
Guest
Pretty good summary Col. I would say of the players listed Gibbs is much more likely to improve his figures in the remainder of his career than Co on ey or Goddard.
macca
Guest
Pretty good summary Col. I would say of the players listed Gibbs is much more likely to improve his figures in the remainder of his career than Cooney or Goddard.
macca
Guest
In 2014 (2015 was ruined by injury and suspension) Gibbs was ranked 32 in the league for tackles, 28 in the league for contested possessions, 15th for Clearances and 36th for total possessions - their must be a hell of a lot of players you rate as Soft in the league.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
I think he's somewhere in the middle. At his very best absolute STUD.... However he's also had his fair share of SPUD games. I tend to think he's a very talented footballer who's probably hurt by the notion (like many sportsmen about) that people think he's just going through the motions sometime. It's not necessarily the truth, but it's certainly something that has come across at times. Next couple of seasons will determine if he can truly elevate himself to STUD levels. At the moment I think he's more close to a very good player. Not a SPUD, but also not a stud either.
macca
Guest
Injury has impacted Plowman and Sumner so far as well Dougie.
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
So lets compare Gibbs to other similar types taken at number 1 since 2000. I use 2000 since before that I doubt whether any of the number 1 picks went on to be stars. So the players I will compare him to in size and position played are Brett Deledio, Adam Cooney David Swallow and Brendon Goddard I know stats aren't the defining reason between a player being good or bad but they are a good measure. I have looked at Disposals, Contested Possession, Tackles and Goals. I think they are the most important stats to consider but feel free to disagree. So the results are as follows Gibbs 22.24 Deledio 22.87 Cooney 21.52 Swallow 20.44 Goddard 22.27 7.62 7.75 8.26 9.76 6.93 3.85 2.80 2.67 4.32 2.84 .55 .75 .84 .49 .55 They all look pretty similar to me. None have a Premiership medallion and Cooney is the only Brownlow Medalist. I guess everyone will have their own opinion who is the better of that group but perhaps the author should have changed his article to Deledio, Goddard, Cooney, Gibbs and Swallow - Studs or Duds.