Bryce Gibbs - best 2 way player in the competition?

[Blue and Silver]

The consensus in here seems to be that Gibbs will clearly play this role for the rest of his career and it was short-sighted to waste a no:1 selection on a tagger.

Well I will wager he won't spend his entire career in this role, and will develop as an elite utility, who occassionally plays this role, but also plays in other positions.

Oh and wouldn't trade Gibbs for Dangerfield. We are yet to see Bryce's best

 

[piesaregreat]

^ No the consensus here is that he is not the best 2 way player in the competition

 

[kreuze control]

i would be disappointed if Freo used their overall pick one to choose a tagger

i suppose youd rather trade it for an average kpp only for him to go back after 38 games anyway

 

[The 747]

^ No the consensus here is that he is not the best 2 way player in the competition

He isn't the best anything in the competition.

And Luke Hodge is "marginally ahead" of Gibbs? That poster has a funny concept of marginally. Perhaps rephrase to light years.

 

[scomac]

This year is a learning year for Gibbs. I remember Thomas played as a tagger in 2009 and came out on fire in 2010. The coach it teaching Gibbs to have a better defensive game with the hope next year Gibbs will be the one tagged. Next year I reckon Gibbs will take that next step.

This,i agree.

 

[rose jam]

terrible investment as a pick 1 especially for a midfielder


Tagger who kicks nicely when not under pressure

 

[Byron_Clanger]

A number one draft pick as a tagger? What a waste

 

[scomac]

He isn't the best anything in the competition.

And Luke Hodge is "marginally ahead" of Gibbs? That poster has a funny concept of marginally. Perhaps rephrase to light years.

Really what an informed punter you are
ranked 1st total marks
ranked 5th total kicks

Dont let reality get in the way of blind hate.

 

[btdg]

Gibbs is not the best 2-way player in the competition. He's done a reasonable job of taking on and beating some opposition midfielders, but that isn't particularly spectacular. Its not like other teams are game-planning how to stop him.

The comparison to Dangerfield is interesting. To me, they came into the league with very similar skill sets and very similar bodies. Dangerfield represents the untamed Gibbs - dangerous, raw, and able to cut teams apart going forward. Kicks goals, sets up goals, but equally seems to disappear from games and is far less dependable. Gibbs, on the other hand, went to the backline, learnt to play on a man, and is now a solid third midfielder who has the ability to rack up touches at will against crappy opponents.

Which is better? Its tempting to say Dangerfield. Watching him have 30 disposal, 4 goal games, you kind of wish Carlton had developed Gibbs that way. But lets just wait and see how this pans out in the long run...

 

[Burzum]

I think he's not only the best 2 way player, but the best overall player in the competition.

 

[Rioli magic]

Gibbs is a good player developing nicely, Carlton fans desperation to be acknowledged is unnecessary. Who cares what pick he went at, that's done with and obviously won't turn out to be a bad choice. Best 2 way player in the game? Hopefully you don't actually believe that, plenty of players play both ways, however rare it is at Carlton.

 

[Naughton]

Gibbs will play 300 games of AFL football, and he'll be a set-and-forget dependable player, with very good vision, game-sense and skills. When he has the ball in his hands, the coach will relax knowing it'll stay with the team for a while yet.

Like Nathan Buckley, he'll never be a highlights-reel guy (Buckley had a great career, but can anyone other than collingwood supporters remember him for any single standout passage of play? No, because his strength was consistency of output season after season), and nor will he ever be crazy-brave. But he will be one of those players who churns out quality games of footy year after year in the Nathan Buckley, Craig Bradley vein.

In fact, after watching Bradley for 350ish games, I can only really remember two specific highlights: his running banana-kick for goal against the Weagles at Princes Park, and the first goal of the 95 grannie. Other than that, it was just Bradley being a hugely efficient cog in the machine. That's what Gibbs is (but obviously the way the game is played today, accountability is far more important, and guys like Bucks and Bradley would play a slightly different role today).

I'd imagine most/all recruiters would be very happy with that. And supporters who question the role he's playing in 2011, and think it's some kind of a waste, I really don't think they understand the game all that well. They're judging a player's output on specific moments in games; on the obvious flashy stuff.

These are the same kinds of people who think Chris Judd circa 2010/11 is inferior to Chris Judd circa 2004/5. No idea of the needs of the modern game.

 

[Pipefitter]

Umm shouldn't Gibbs be the one getting tagged by now?

 

[Sin City]

I think Pendlebury's 140 odd tackles last year and work all around the ground should have him in front. Gibbs is playing very well in whatever role he is given which is usually different every week, we have plrnty of creative attacking midfielders and sometimes we'll need a versatile player like Gibbs to play a role, and if that role helps us win I think it outweighs narrow minded trolls on BigFooty saying "Number 1 pick on tagger, lol, Cartank, won't even make teh 8 this year"

 

[stabface]

Umm shouldn't Gibbs be the one getting tagged by now?

This is exactly right.

Terrible, terrible role for a #1 draft pick.

I don't care if you call it a "run with role" or whatever, it's tagging and it's a joke that he's tagging.

He should be hunting the footy and damaging the opposition. Carazzo should be the one tagging.

 

[sr36]

He is a good player and he may be the best player who is being played in that role, but there is a large number of players who could play the role better - starting with Swan, Hodge, Goddard, etc. It's a bit like getting excited because someone is the best sub.

 

[piesaregreat]

Gibbs is a skillful player but this "run with role" where he follow around an opposition forward and tries to negate their influence while getting possessions. Isn't that what a HBF is supposed to do?

Why do you think he is the best HBF in the competition.
Alan Toovey started out as a tagger

 

[Poseidon]

I don't get why at this stage his draft position should influence where he's played. He's playing a team defensive role and he's playing it superbly. As somebody said before, how many Judd's and Murphy's does a side need? If he helps us win games then I'm all for it.

 

[Burzum]

I don't get why at this stage his draft position should influence where he's played. He's playing a team defensive role and he's playing it superbly. As somebody said before, how many Judd's and Murphy's does a side need? If he helps us win games then I'm all for it.

You don't remember the hype around Gibbs in '06?

 

[PooMonkey]

Do people actually realise that the kid has only just turned 22 and has almost 100 games on the board??

The club is developing him in a very good manner...

Goddard did not burst onto the scene either, but because his last 2/3 seasons have been prolific you forget how long it took him to get to that level...

And to make an even more reasonable example of the two - Goddard has just turned 26...

I think the similarities between the two are striking and i believe Gibbs will explode into one of the games best players in the next 12-18months.

 

[mattyflux]

We've all seen over the last couple of seasons the kid has the ability to rack up the posessions. What I see is Gibb's playing a team role. He is in fact sacrificing his natural attacking game for the good of the team. The Blues need someone to stop the oppositions best midfielders and he is the most reliable at doing it while also averaging 23 touches himself. I think he is doing an outstanding job in a role that often goes unrewarded.

People who think anyone can tag/negate are kidding themselves. It takes someone who is supremely fit, disciplined and very team oriented to perform that role. A 30 second lapse in concentration can cost a goal, being lazy and not going with your man can cost your team. I reckon Gibbs is playing the role he is because no one at carlton can do it as well as him (similar to Hodge going back in 2008) plus it is a massive apprentiship running with the leagues best midfielders every week. He would be learning a lot when it comes to effort required to be the best, about positioning himself at the contest, about ability to gut run etc.

In the next couple of seasons we will see the tables turn and Gibbs will be the one being hunted. For now he is doing what is asked of him by his coach and he is doing a bloody good job of it.

 

[The 747]

I don't get why at this stage his draft position should influence where he's played. He's playing a team defensive role and he's playing it superbly. As somebody said before, how many Judd's and Murphy's does a side need? If he helps us win games then I'm all for it.

Because people think that a number 1 draft pick after 100 games should bring more to the table than being a tagger or loose man in defence.

What he is doing works well for Carlton and that is what is important to them in the end. But if he was number 50 draft pick nobody would be commenting.

That draft 2007 is nothing like it was hyped up to be either. A lot of kids who are not what they were hyped to be.

 

[The 747]

Really what an informed punter you are
ranked 1st total marks
ranked 5th total kicks

Dont let reality get in the way of blind hate.

So what does that make him best in the competition at? Serious question.

And I don't blind hate, I don't hate Gibbs or Carlton at all. Just commenting purely as a neutral that he is not the "best" anything at this stage. He is not even the best player from his draft at this stage.

 

[blues4flag]

We've all seen over the last couple of seasons the kid has the ability to rack up the posessions. What I see is Gibb's playing a team role. He is in fact sacrificing his natural attacking game for the good of the team. The Blues need someone to stop the oppositions best midfielders and he is the most reliable at doing it while also averaging 23 touches himself. I think he is doing an outstanding job in a role that often goes unrewarded.

People who think anyone can tag/negate are kidding themselves. It takes someone who is supremely fit, disciplined and very team oriented to perform that role. A 30 second lapse in concentration can cost a goal, being lazy and not going with your man can cost your team. I reckon Gibbs is playing the role he is because no one at carlton can do it as well as him (similar to Hodge going back in 2008) plus it is a massive apprentiship running with the leagues best midfielders every week. He would be learning a lot when it comes to effort required to be the best, about positioning himself at the contest, about ability to gut run etc.

In the next couple of seasons we will see the tables turn and Gibbs will be the one being hunted. For now he is doing what is asked of him by his coach and he is doing a bloody good job of it.

Excellent post. Gibbs doesn't play the role he does because he can't hurt the opposition - watch a game from late 2009 to see how dangerous he can be when he's allowed to hunt the footy forward of centre.

He plays the role because the coach demands it of him. Few players have his ability to stop an opponent and still influence the game in a meaningful way. Let him play his natural game and he'd be applauded but clearly the MC is of the opinion that he's more valuable to the team in this role.

 

[forwardflanker]

My god Carlton supporters are desperate for their side to be taken seriously, embarrassing really.

this

not even Josh Fraser ended up being a tagger