Jimmy Bartel needs to make a difficult decision and Josh Gibson is in a terrible form slump
THIS is a tale of two champs – Jimmy Bartel and Josh Gibson. One is considering whether to play on next year and the other is in a horrible form slump.
Mark Robinson
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THIS is a tale of two champs – Jimmy Bartel and Josh Gibson.
One, Bartel, is considering whether to play on next year and the other, Gibson, is in a horrible form slump.
Bartel needs to make the difficult decision to end his illustrious career.
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Gibson needs to reassure Hawks officials they made the right decision to extend his career for another season.
They were opposed to each other in Friday night’s epic encounter and clearly Bartel was the winner.
That doesn’t mean Bartel played particularly brilliantly.
It means his role as a defensive forward on Gibson worked in Geelong’s favour and, in a two-point thriller, it was an important role.
Gibson, mind you, helped the cause.
What is wrong with dual premiership best and fairest winner?
Gibson not so long ago was the do-it-all man in Hawthorn’s defensive 50 and a walk-up All-Australian.
He was the third-man up specialist, he could go one-on-one, he was creative and assured with his dinky left-foot kicks coming out of defence and left alone, he would control everything that happened in the defensive 50m.
He is a shadow of the player in the first two-thirds of the season and if the Hawks go bang, bang out and Gibson has another poor game against the Bulldogs on Friday night then he will be listed as one of the reasons why.
BARTEL AND GIBSON WENT HEAD-TO-HEAD FOR 99 MINUTES
It started to go pear-shaped for Gibson after the Round 18 game against Richmond.
It was quintessential Gibson against the Tigers – 31 disposals, 12 marks – but he hasn’t since gone close to replicating that performance.
His ranking points from Rounds 1-18 were 99 points. From Rounds 19 to Friday night’s game it is 65.
His disposals, metres gained and intercept possessions have plummeted which coincides with Hawthorn’s 2-3 win-loss record in the past five games.
And it’s not as if Gibson has been shut down by defensive forwards every week.
On Friday night it was Bartel who kept him reigned in.
In Round 19, Collingwood’s Tyson Goldsack kept Gibson to 11 disposals from 72 minutes of game time.
It would be hard going for any defender to have a pesky forward nullifying you first and going for the ball second, but the facts are Gibson’s past six weeks have been average.
He knows he’s in a slump and it’s said he’s trying all kinds of tricks to get out of it.
Identifying the truth is the start and Gibson is putting extra sessions to regain that most valuable of football commodities: Confidence.
JOSH GIBSON’S LATE SEASON STRUGGLES
In a game sense, he looks slow, careful and lacking urgency, which has to rectified for the Bulldogs clash.
Bartel could be described as the same, although his effort on Friday will please his coaches. Shane Kersten did a similar job on Gibson in Round 1 this year and although the commentary suggested Kersten did not have a great game, again the coaches were thrilled with role.
Bartel opposed Gibson for 99 minutes and had more disposals (16-14) and more marks (3-2). That’s a huge win.
And his inspiring gather and handball to Joel Selwood who burst through traffic to get off another handball, which led to Josh Caddy’s goal in the final quarter, was vintage Jim.
Maybe the good and bad is overly examined in finals football, and he’s never been quick Bartel, but he is slower than at any other time of his career.
And at times on Friday night, Bartel looked lost.
Hated writing that line, for Bartel is unquestionably a champion of the competition and for most of his career wouldn’t get lost at Mornington Peninsula’s Ashcombe Maze, which is one of the world’s most difficult mazes to explore.
The situation with Geelong about next year is, from afar, not ideal.
JIMMY BARTEL’S IN A RUT
Bartel has activated the clause in his contract to play again, and the Cats have stressed it is Bartel’s decision. They have also said they want him to play on, but games in the VFL were a possibility.
Geelong’s thinking can’t be about whether Bartel is in the best team at Round 1 next year, rather if he will be in the best team come September next year.
If it’s slated he might only play 14 games in 2017, what makes you think three of them will be in September?
Cats fans might wonder who, other than Chris Scott and his football staff, has the right to pass judgment on Bartel. And they might be right.
But the end comes for every footballer, from Leigh Matthews to Matthew Lloyd to Brent Macaffer and Sauce Merrett.
They hit the wall. The bodies slow and reflexes diminish.
Josh Gibson might be wondering if it’s also happened to him.
Originally published as Jimmy Bartel needs to make a difficult decision and Josh Gibson is in a terrible form slump
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