Carlton tells Bryce Gibbs it doesn’t plan to trade him
IF Adelaide or any other club wants Bryce Gibbs, they will have to pay a ridiculous price, with Carlton set to resist advances for their midfield star.
CARLTON will again play hardball with Bryce Gibbs, telling the midfielder it has no plans to trade him.
A year after Adelaide accused the Blues of making “unrealistic demands” of two first-round draft picks, Carlton is once more set to hold out for a king’s ransom.
The Herald Sun understands Carlton will put a huge asking price of two first round draft picks and a player on Gibbs’ head in a clear message they don’t want him going anywhere.
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It remains unclear whether Gibbs will again push for a move home to Adelaide. He shocked the Blues last October by requesting a trade so that he and his partner Lauren would have better family support around their young son, Charlie.
But at 28, Carlton remains determined to retain one of its best midfielders in an engine room still light-on for top-end talent. Gibbs has two years left to run on a lucrative five-year deal worth about $600,000 a season.
The Crows’ first pick in this year’s national draft could be as late as 17 if they win the flag — four picks later than what the Blues rejected last year.
Gibbs has close friendships at the club and the fact he played some of his best football after his failed trade move has only strengthened the Blues’ position.
The former No. 1 pick averaged 27 possessions a game in 2017 — identical to last season — and won the most clearances and laid the most tackles of any Carlton player in another durable and consistent campaign.
He is expected to battle All-Australian defender Sam Docherty and captain Marc Murphy for the John Nicholls Medal at Crown Palladium on September 22.
Adelaide has remained silent on its pursuit of Gibbs after emerging frustrated from trade deadline day talks last year.
They believed pick 13 was more than enough to get the deal done, but were left seething as the two clubs butted heads.
“At the end of the day, two round-one draft picks was pretty unrealistic and pretty irresponsible list management if we were to entertain that,” Adelaide list manager Justin Reid said.
“He is a quality player and person but, like in all trades, there has to be fair value for both parties.”
Carlton list manager Andrew McKay said of Gibbs at the time: “We’re very confident he’ll be seeing his contract out at Carlton”.
“We see a 10-year player, 200 games and leader of the club and a really valuable player in the prime of his career,” McKay said.
“He’s a recent best and fairest winner and again polled really high in the best and fairest this year. He’s a very valuable player for us.
“Bryce has shown great professionalism through the whole process. We believe we’ll be able to ... not make him feel too awkward and play some really good footy for Carlton.”
Originally published as Carlton tells Bryce Gibbs it doesn’t plan to trade him