When I was 19 I did my apprenticeship with a guy who played school footy with Bryce Gibbs. He said he was crap and couldn't believe he was going to get drafted or was rated so highly.
Take the opinions of 17-18 year olds with a grain of salt when it comes to judging football talent.
Crazy. Bryce Gibbs was a standout junior. A total gun. He was tall as a young kid and would get the ruck tap and rove it also. Was no surprise that he developed into AFL level player. Reckon your mate either had the wrong guy or he was way, way off the mark.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Gibbs_(Australian_rules_footballer)