Reece Homfray examines why Bryce Gibbs' Adelaide trade never worked after his retirement from AFL
Bryce Gibbs’ high-profile move to Adelaide never went to plan and will end with the midfielder only playing three games in his final year. Reece Homfray examines where it all went wrong.
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As Bryce Gibbs was having breakfast with his teammates on the Gold Coast midway through Round 4, his phone was blowing up.
The night before, his one-word Tweet sent the footy world into a spin as it tried to decipher whether him writing “Baggers” after Carlton’s thrilling win over the Essendon was a cry for help that he wanted out of Adelaide or simply that he still had a soft spot for his old side.
“I actually had breakfast with him the next morning and he was blown away by how that just took off onto every platform you could imagine,” his teammate Brodie Smith said.
“The way I see it is he has plenty of mates at Carlton and he’s still passionate that they’re playing good footy.
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“If you look back to the years we had Eddie Betts here, he was the exact same and he enjoyed seeing Carlton go well, so the way we’re going at the moment it’s easy for everyone to jump on and make a big story out of it.
“But I think it’s a massive over-reaction to someone just appreciating his old mates going well.”
Gibbs remained contracted to the Crows for next year but after being on the outer for much of the season, it was revealed he would retire on Thursday after playing a farewell game against his old side.
“You can sense his regret, the Crows have destroyed his career, he’s gone from being one of the best midfielders in the competition to a confused fringe player who can’t get a game, who could blame him?” Graham Cornes said.
The situation which culminated in Gibbs' retirement has been brewing for more than 12 months and it was almost as if he could foresee his own demise.
On the eve of Round 1 last year he fronted the media and was asked after 253 games whether he could still improve.
“Absolutely, even as a just-turned-30-year-old still trying to improve my game where I can and keep up with these young fellas who keep you on your toes,” Gibbs told reporters.
“With a full list available for Round 1 you’ve got to be on your game because it’s tough for spots and guys are going to be coming for your spot.
“There are no guarantees and I’ve certainly got to be playing at the level to make sure I’m getting a game each week and that’s consistent across the whole list.”
That was March, 2019, and Gibbs had just come off a more than respectable first season with the Crows when he was fourth in their best-and-fairest.
“I think people forget how good he was in 2018,” one Champion Data analyst said.
Not surprisingly, the numbers back that up.
GIBBS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
In his 11 seasons at Carlton from 2007-2017, Gibbs’ stats are as follows:
Disposals: 23.1
Uncontested possession: 14.8
Metres gained: 364
Score involvements: 5.8
Tackles: 4.2
Ranking points: 97
And in 22 games in his first season at Adelaide, his stats were:
Disposals: 25.9
Uncontested possession: 14.8
Metres gained: 426 (career-high)
Score involvements: 6.0
Tackles: 5.4
Ranking points: 96
But numbers have never been the issue, as Kane Cornes so bluntly put it after Round 3 last year when he described Gibbs’ game as “the worst 27-possession game I’ve seen”.
The issue for Gibbs has been his defensive action, according to coaches, and he was given a run-with role on Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver in the second half of the Crows’ Round 11 win in Darwin and looked OK.
But after being dropped and recalled like a yoyo all year by Don Pyke in 2019, Gibbs was set for a fresh start under Matthew Nicks in 2020, however it was clear within four rounds that was not going to materialise.
He played Round 1 but hadn’t been sighted since and will finish with three games during his farewell campaign.
A request to speak with Gibbs in June was declined by Adelaide but a source close to him outside the footy club said at the time he was not angling to try to get out and was determined to get his spot back despite the Crows heading into a full-blown rebuild.
“He’s been working with the young blokes (at Adelaide) and they’re happy with what he’s contributing, they’re not questioning that, he’s got to get his game to that level. Kyle Hartigan is in the same boat,” the source said.
Gibbs came to grand finalist Adelaide at the end of 2017 wanting to play finals.
“It would be nice to get back there, I haven’t been in September for a few years now (since 2013), and even speaking to the guys the years before last year the hunger they want to get back to play there it’s infectious and excites me to get back there that’s for sure,” Gibbs said last season after the Crows missed out in 2018.
But three years into a four-year deal at Adelaide it became clear he wouldn't get the chance to do that.
“If Bryce Gibbs cannot get into that football team then his career as an AFL footballer is finished,” Gerard Healy said on Fox Footy earlier this year.
“If you’re not in that team, your career is basically at the end.”
But how did it escalate so quickly?
OCTOBER, 2017 — HE’S COMING HOME
One year after Adelaide refused Carlton’s demand for two first-round draft picks, the Crows this time paid up and the deal to land Gibbs, who was 29 at the time, was as follows:
■ Carlton received picks 10, 16, and 73 and the Crows’ 2018 second-round pick.
■ Adelaide received Gibbs, pick 77 and Carlton’s 2018 second and third-round picks.
“This deal presents much better value compared to what was first discussed 12 months ago with the return of future draft picks from Carlton in what we consider a very strong draft a key component for us,” list manager Justin Reid said.
“To be able to bring in an A Grade midfielder and improve our position for next year’s draft is a great result for our club.”
OCTOBER, 2018 — NO FIRST YEAR BLUES
Gibbs made an immediate impact in Adelaide but primarily as a midfielder as opposed to a roaming defender at Carlton.
In 11 years at the Blues he attended an average of 9.3 centre bounces per game. Since joining the Crows that’s increased to 15.4 per game.
His midfield time went up by 20 per cent and time in defence was cut in half, and in 2018 he was fourth in the club’s best-and-fairest behind winner Rory Laird.
Coming into the 2019 season he was asked at a media conference whether he had anything special planned for the year ahead.
“I hope so, absolutely,” Gibbs said.
Then he was asked whether his role would change.
“Probably start in the midfield a bit like last year and we have a few more troops available for selection which is nice, I’ll probably find myself inside, on the wing, half-back and maybe even up forward to pretty flexible.”
APRIL, 2019 — AXE FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME
Gibbs played the first three games of 2019 and had 16 disposals in the Round 1 loss to Hawthorn, 23 in the Round 2 win over Hawthorn, and 27 in the Round 3 loss to Geelong which led to him being dropped for the first time.
“We have got guys who are experienced and played a lot of footy but you still have to perform and that is what it came down to,” then coach Don Pyke explained at the time.
“We know he is a quality player and want him in our best 22 but has just got some things to tidy up and when he does that I will expect him to push for selection really soon.”
Gibbs admitted he was surprised at being dropped.
“Generally the feedback from those two games was quite positive so personally it was a little bit of a shock to get that phone call and to hear that’s the path they were going to go down and the decision they made,” he said.
MAY, 2019 — DROPPED AGAIN
Gibbs did push for a recall and it came a fortnight later against Gold Coast in Round 5. That started a rollercoaster with Gibbs playing every second game at AFL level from Rounds 3-11.
When he was dropped for the second time after Round 5, Pyke said:
“I don’t really want to go into a full debrief of Bryce Gibbs and the ins and outs of what he’s doing well and what he’s not. I’m respectful of him and our relationship.
“There are some things we’re working on and if he gets them right he will become a consistent player at the footy club and at the moment he isn’t doing that in those areas.
“It has been a work in progress for him. We’re looking for continual change to get him in to be that rounded player we know and we want him to be and who he wants to be.”
JULY, 2019 — CUT FOR THE FOURTH TIME
Gibbs played in the Round 15 loss to Geelong at Kardinia Park and was dropped for a fourth time.
“Bryce is not in the best of form, he would be the first to admit that,” Pyke said.
“But we’re working hard with him in terms of getting back into good form playing the sort of footy we know he’s capable of.
“We’re really confident that is going to turn around and he’s going to be an important part of the club going forward.”
He was eventually recalled for the last four games of Adelaide’s season which included 29 disposals against St Kilda in Round 20 then 12 and 18 against Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs to finish.
NOVEMBER, 2019 — A NEW DAWN
Matthew Nicks’ arrival as Adelaide’s new coach coincided with a significant list overhaul with veterans Sam Jacobs, Eddie Betts, Richard Douglas and Andy Otten all departing. Gibbs was due to turn 31 in March but had two years left to run on his contract so wasn’t going anywhere.
And despite a modus operandi to play the kids, Nicks sounded bullish about what he may get from his former Carlton star during an interview in November.
“We’ve had that conversation about … what can we do to allow you to play that style of footy you need to play,” Nicks said.
“Whether that was in and around the footy as much as we could get him in there, but he also knows that a half-back position is somewhere that may suit him where he’s actually at with his game at the moment.
“He’s a super player. It’s a matter of us helping him in that space and where he can play his best footy. I have no doubt he will have a strong season for us.”
FEBRUARY, 2020 — LOOKING GOOD
The early signs were good for Gibbs after a solid pre-season and he was picked for both Marsh Community Series games.
“Speaking with Bryce Gibbs around the struggles he’s had in the past 12 months, it was just a really basic conversation about what’s the best thing we can do for you,” Nicks said.
“That was a great conversation. He feels he’s better seeing the game from half-back, so we’ve put him there for the last couple of months and he’s been outstanding for the group and it’s taken his game to another level.
“So hopefully he can take that into the Marsh Series and possibly into Round 1.”
MARCH, 2020 — ROUND 1
He was picked for Round 1 and the Crows put up a decent fight against Sydney in Rory Sloane’s 200th game in front of an empty Adelaide Oval, losing by just three points.
Gibbs only had seven disposals, including two kicks, and did not lay a tackle, yet immediately post-match Nicks held back on any criticism.
“I really liked Bryce’s game to be honest, for what we’re asking, I think there’s always improvement in what we’re looking for,” he said.
JUNE, 2020 — DROPPED (AGAIN)
Despite Nicks’ optimism, when push came to shove after the COVID-19 shutdown and Tom Doedee had recovered from his knee reconstruction, it was Gibbs who made way.
“For him (Doedee) to come in, Bryce is understanding of how it looks at this point,” Nicks said.
“Bryce is probably going up more against a (Rory) Laird, (Luke) Brown, (Wayne) Milera in those (defensive) positions, we have got some real depth down back.
“We’re going to continue to work with Gibba and he will play some footy, he will play plenty of footy this year. It’s just a matter of what that mix looks like.”
JUNE, 2020 — STILL WAITING
Despite Adelaide making a 0-3 start, including a 75-point loss to Port Adelaide in the Showdown and a 53-point loss to Gold Coast, and Matt Crouch being dropped, there was still no room for Gibbs who clearly must break into the backline or not at all.
“It hasn’t changed really unfortunately for him, the backs held up under 58 inside-50s last week and did a pretty reasonable job, so Bryce didn’t come in this weekend but he’s just got to keep performing, keep doing the right thing, he’s helping the younger players at the moment,” Crows assistant coach Michael Godden said on the weekend.
“It’s a really tough decision but he’s not the only one, you’ve got David Mackay who is a 200-game player sitting there and Kyle Hartigan, so there are a number (in that situation) that need to develop the next generation and that’s part of their role at the moment.”
Originally published as Reece Homfray examines why Bryce Gibbs' Adelaide trade never worked after his retirement from AFL