Star Adelaide Crows recruit Bryce Gibbs opens up on his emotional homecoming
BRYCE Gibbs concedes it was now or never. If the player the Adelaide Crows had hoped would be their first father-son selection way back in 2006 had not been traded home this year he doesn’t believe it would ever have happened.
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BRYCE Gibbs concedes it was now or never.
If the player the Adelaide Crows had hoped would be their first father-son selection way back in 2006 had not been traded home this year he doesn’t believe it would ever have happened.
“I reckon I would have remained a Carlton player for life,’’ the 28-year-old told The Advertiser as the Crows yesterday finished phase one of their pre-season training program before breaking for Christmas.
“If it hadn’t happened this year I think it’s fair to say I wasn’t going to go back and ask a third time to come home.
“I turn 30 in 2019 and the Crows might not have wanted me then, so it was probably my last roll of the dice.’’
Star midfielder Gibbs’ homecoming after 11 years at Carlton was more than a year in the making.
The son of dual Glenelg premiership defender Ross Gibbs, Bryce – selected at pick one at the 2006 national draft after it was revealed that Ross had fallen agonisingly nine games short of the 200-game qualifying period for Bryce to be eligible for Crows father-son selection – had appeared set to play his entire career with the Blues after signing a five-year contract extension in 2014. But the birth of his son, Charlie, in 2015 changed things dramatically.
“When I signed that five-year contract I certainly had no intentions of coming back to Adelaide,’’ said Gibbs, who played 231 games and kicked 137 goals for Carlton after debuting against Richmond in round one, 2007.
“Me and my fiancee (Lauren) are both from Adelaide but we were very happy in Melbourne, we loved the club and the lifestyle there.
“But when the little fella came along your mindset, your outlook, changes. Suddenly it wasn’t about us anymore, it was about him.
“It was about our families, who we are both very close to, and having them see Charlie more often and be happy to do the babysitting.
“Seeing the joy on our families' faces when they came to Melbourne to visit Charlie – and the idea of having Charlie grow up around his grandparents, aunties and uncles – that lure was extremely strong.
“So during the first two years of raising Charlie we decided that if it was possible for us to get back to Adelaide we would try to do it.
“Last year we attempted it but it didn’t happen. This year it worked out.’’
The Crows sent shockwaves through the opening morning of last year’s trade period when list manager Justin Reid boldly told the media that Gibbs wanted to come home.
But the club’s aggressive approach during the trade period upset Carlton and after two weeks of negotiations the clubs couldn’t agree to a deal, with Adelaide claiming the Blues’ demand for two first-round draft picks would have been “irresponsible list management’’ and “too high a price to pay’’.
Gibbs went back to Carlton with his tail between his legs and “no bitterness but a lot of mixed emotions’’.
“There was some anxiety at that point,’’ he recalled.
“Before the trade fell over I was anxious about whether a deal would go through pretty much until the last minute and for whatever reason it didn’t get over the line.’’
Gibbs said he was “lucky’’ to attend Blues team-mate and good friend Marc Murphy’s buck's party in Las Vegas, along with “eight of my best mates from Carlton’’, soon after the failed trade which helped him “get a bit off my chest’’.
“It enabled me to have a few beers and a few ‘d and m’s’ with them, which was great,’’ he said.
“And when I got back to Victoria I made the decision to not even think about returning to Adelaide for the next 12 months because I knew if I did that I wouldn’t be doing myself or the club any favours.
“I needed to go back to Carlton, train hard in the pre-season like I had done for the previous 11 years and invest again with the club that I had grown to love.
“What made that easier was that I was going back to a club where there was no bitterness because I wasn’t trying to leave for money or because I’d had a fallout with anyone. My reasons were based purely on family. So it was business as usual when I returned.’’
Gibbs didn’t allow the let-down to affect his form.
He enjoyed a stellar 2017 campaign, averaging 27 disposals and kicking 17 goals and finishing fourth in Carlton’s club champion voting.
It wasn’t until his end-of-season interview with coach Brendon Bolton that the subject of returning to Adelaide raised its head again.
“The exit interview was good but Brendon asked me if there was something I wanted to entertain (returning home) I had to be honest and let the club know,’’ Gibbs said.
“I said I hadn’t really thought about it too much because all year I’d told myself that wasn't something I was going to do.
“But I then had a good chat with Lauren (his partner of 10 years) about whether it was a realistic option again and contacted my manager (Nigel Carmody) to see if there was any interest from Adelaide because we hadn’t heard anything.
“I then had another meeting with ‘Bolts’ (Bolton) and we had some tough conversations. It wasn't easy eyeballing the coach and telling him for the second year in a row that I was keen to go home if the right deal could be worked out but he understood and was good about it.
“Then all of a sudden it gathered momentum as the trade period unfolded. Even with two or three days before the trade deadline I didn’t think it was going to happen because there wasn’t much dialogue between Carlton and Adelaide.
“Then the ball started rolling late on and the next minute the deal was over the line.’’
While his wish had been granted, Gibbs said he had mixed emotions because of his love for the Blues.
“I had some happy phone calls telling my family the deal was going to happen but some really tough ones telling my (Carlton) mates that I was leaving because I really do love the place,’’ he said.
“I will be forever grateful to the Carlton Football Club for what it did for me, not only on the field but also off the field.
“I have built up a lifetime of relationships there, which is pretty special, and the place is my second family.’’
But he is happy to be home.
Gibbs has been training with Adelaide for a month and has bought a home at Brighton, close to his old stomping ground at Brighton High School.
“It’s been a pretty smooth transition because I grew up in the area, close to the beach, and even when I go to the local cafe I bump into old school mates,’’ he said. “It’s definitely good to be home and the family are loving having Charlie around but as far as my football is concerned I’m not sure the move has fully sunk in yet.
“It still feels a bit weird putting the new colours on for training but I’ve done my best to spend as much time as possible with every player at the club to get to know them not only as footballers but also as people.
“Because everything's happened so quickly I think there will be a moment, probably early next year, when it will hit me that I am actually an Adelaide Football Club player.
“And I am here to help the club win a premiership.’’
Blues brothers back together at Adelaide
Andrew Capel
EDDIE Betts pops his head into the Bryce Gibbs interview and comments: “It’s ‘Sauce’ (Sam Jacobs) to Gibbs to Betts, bang, goal – just like the Carlton days’’.
The former Blues all wear the Crows tricolours now and while they played in a final together for Carlton against Sydney in 2010 they have never experienced winning one as a trio.
Gibbs hopes that will change at his new club, with Adelaide making the grand final this year and being one of the favourites to win next year’s premiership.
“Joining Adelaide definitely throws some different football challenges at me, that’s for sure,’’ said Gibbs, who played just five finals in 11 years for Carlton, winning two.
“As much as I loved being at Carlton (which finished 16th this year) it’s exciting knowing that Adelaide is probably a little bit closer to reaching the ultimate goal of a premiership.
“They just fell short last season and have had to deal with the heartbreak of losing a grand final but they are close and I’d like to think I can help add to the team and help them get to where they want to go.
“It’s certainly an exciting opportunity and one that I’m grateful for because it’s not every day you get to be involved with a team that is close.
“I haven’t been exposed to a lot of finals footy before and I’m really looking forward to having some team success.
“But in saying that we’re definitely not taking anything for granted because as the past two years have shown, with the Western Bulldogs and Richmond winning, it’s a very even competition and teams can come from anywhere.
“Hopefully I can help but my first goal is to earn the respect of my new team-mates.’’
Gibbs, 187cm and an elite kick, has played most of his career in the midfield and rates it as his favourite position. But he also has played good football as a playmaking defender and goalkicking forward.
Gibbs, who ended up being traded to Adelaide in a complicated deal that saw the clubs exchange a series of draft picks that netted the Blues picks 10 and 16 this year, said he has yet to be told by new coach Don Pyke where he will fit into the Crows line-up. But he expects to play “multiple positions’’.
“One of my strengths is my versatility so I can see myself playing through the midfield but also half-back and up forward at times, where I’ll try to kick Eddie out occasionally for a bit of a rest,’’ he said. Gibbs, who believes his best football is still in front of him, is almost certain to be included in Adelaide’s leadership group in his first year at the club.
“I’m one of the more senior heads around the place and I’d like to think that I’ll lead with or without an official leadership role,’’ he said.
New team-mate, defender Daniel Talia, already has given a glowing appraisal of Gibbs’ leadership.
“He’s been really impressive at training, just with the way he reads the game and communicates really well,’’ he said.
“He’s become a really important member of the group already, so we’ll certainly consider it.’’
Originally published as Star Adelaide Crows recruit Bryce Gibbs opens up on his emotional homecoming
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