Delisted #42 Jason Gilbee (NSW Zone selection, 2022 Rookie Draft)

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Nov 23, 2015
13,163
20,416
AFL Club
GWS
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Position: Utility (half-back/wing)
Height: 191cm
Weight: 76kg
D.O.B: 15-05-2004
Teams: NSW-ACT, Allies, Bendigo Pioneers

SNAPSHOT: “A genuine utility with enormous running capacity, capable of playing small and tall in each third of the ground.”

STRENGTHS:
  • Character
  • Endurance
  • Outside run
  • Versatility
  • Work rate
IMPROVEMENTS:
  • Hurt factor
  • Inside game
There aren’t many prospects who truly suit the utility tag, but Jason Gillbee is certainly one. Having played both sides of midfield and as a medium-tall at either end of the ground, the Bendigo Pioneers running machine is a proven quantity in all thirds of the field. Hailing from Balranald in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Gillbee made the move down to Bendigo to further his education and football, gaining valuable bottom-age experience with the Pioneers last year before being named among the 2022 AFL Academy intake. He has taken great strides since, turning out 10 times throughout his latest NAB League campaign en route to Team of the Year honours, and earning selection in the Allies squad. In an one-off quirk, he also represented Vic Country this year prior to the Under 18 National Championships.

At the crux of Gillbee's game are his running capacity and versatility. At over 190cm, he models his game on the likes of Nik Cox, presenting as a tall outside player who runs all day, can clunk an overhead mark, and distributes the ball by foot. His endurance is high-level, with the 18-year-old running around the six-minute mark over 2km and using it on-field to offer value in a range of roles. The most obvious fit for him is on a wing, but Gillbee is also an apt intercept or rebound asset off half-back, and a third tall or high half-forward in the attacking half.

Most likely to play as a wingman or dashing defender at the next level, Gillbee has proven himself capable of racking up possessions at an incredibly consistent rate - sitting between 19 and 26 touches per his 10 NAB League games this year. As alluded to, he prefers to go by foot, doing so nearly 65 per cent of the time with Bendigo and 76 per cent with the Allies. He is more an accumulator rather than a burst impact player, usually taking on the kick-in duties and spreading the play from the back half.

Though relatively neat and able to gain good meterage, he is not as damaging a kick as others in the draft pool, even though he takes on those switching and centring options. He went at 59 per cent kick efficiency during his three National Championship games, highlighting the growth he can make in that department. The other area of growth for Gillbee going forward is his contested game. He went at a 77 per cent uncontested rate in Allies colours this year, and is suited to the outside with his light running frame. While trialled on the inside early on, he proved much more effective when carrying the ball in space.Gillbee is the type of character to improve on his deficiencies though, as a spiritual leader among the Bendigo group. He's a standard setter and popular teammate whose willingness to adapt to different roles throughout the season points towards high coachability, something invaluable to AFL clubs.

 
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(selected extracts)

When a teenager moves out of home, their behaviour tends to be a reaction to whatever restrictions their parents put on them growing up. The shackles of adolescence come off, and they can do whatever they want with their newfound freedom. Usually, that means a filthy bedroom, a kitchen sink stacked with dirty dishes, or endless curfew-free nights on the town with their mates. Jason Gillbee’s rebellion was a little different. “My ‘shackles breaking’ was me being able to have a heap of milk,” he said.

We all have our quirks; there’s no shaming here. But there is a sense of palpable disbelief around the GWS Giants – where the 18-year-old was drafted as a rookie at the end of last year – about this kid, and how he operates. Three years ago, Gillbee made an executive decision to replace his entire water intake with milk. Full-cream, preferably. Gillbee grew up on a farm in Balranald in the NSW Riverina. There wasn’t as much milk around as he would have liked. “Me and my brother have sort of always drank it ... Mum wouldn’t buy it all the time because we used to drink it like that,” he said, snapping his fingers for emphasis.

Everything changed when he moved to Bendigo for school in Year 10, and was billeted with a local family. “That was probably like the real start of it. I’d always drank milk before that, but like, it was just there all the time,” Gillbee said. “That first year and a half, I’d always drink full cream, and the family that I moved in with only had light milk. And I was like, ‘I don’t know about this’ at the start. But I sort of got used to it and then the light milk became fine. “But when I moved out [on my own], I was back on the full cream. So it was probably then – and there was no real reason other than like, it was there, and they kept buying it so I could keep drinking it.”

There are loads of relevant questions at this point, but all of them are tangentially connected to the main one. Why? It’s not about adding extra size to his wiry 191-centimetre frame, although that is an added “bonus”. And don’t get him started on almond or oat milk.“It’s mainly just a taste thing, a flavour thing,” he said. “It’s not like real flavoursome, but like, I don’t know – the taste of milk, I just find it so much better than water. And it’s hydrating. People say it’s more hydrating than water. I don’t know how true that is. But still, it’s gonna hydrate me, and I think just because I’ve been doing it for so long, I can drink a lot of it.” How much, exactly? “Probably 2-2.5 litres a day,” Gillbee estimates. “Depending how hot it is.”

So far, it hasn’t caused him any health-related grief. Not yet, anyway, although he is happy to clarify he drinks water while training.
 

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Unfortunately, "the milkman" was a surprise delisting by the GWS Giants after just one year. I suspect a surfeit of running wingers/halfback flankers meant that there wasn't a great value in giving him more time to develop.

Best of luck, Jason, and all the best with whatever you do in the future.


The GIANTS have informed young duo Cameron Fleeton and Jason Gillbee that they will not be offered contracts for 2024.

Gillbee, 19, joined the GIANTS as an NSW zone selection for the 2023 season and was unable to break through for an AFL game.
GIANTS General Manager of Football, Jason McCartney, thanked the duo for their service to the club. “It’s always a tough time of year to let players go that have contributed to the club,” McCartney said. “Jason has been with us for a season after being selected as a category B rookie and was unfortunately unable to make his mark. Both Cam and Jason have been great additions off the field who have contributed to our club, and we wish them both well in their next ventures.”
 

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Delisted #42 Jason Gilbee (NSW Zone selection, 2022 Rookie Draft)

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