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Past Bryce Gibbs

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The last time Bryce Gibbs played some decent consistent football was that stellar season he had leading into signing that end of season mega-contract of his. Since that deal was struck, he has been lethargic & spasmodic in most games only giving us the occasional teaser of what he is really capable of. This has frustrated many a Blues fan as he is one of a small handful of players who we have expected more from every week.

Whilst I haven't had the pleasure of watching the last three games due to no coverage up here in Sydney, the one thing that everyone I speak to talks about is how well Bryce Gibbs is playing right now. We have always known that he is a very smart player who knows where to get where the ball is going to be plus he is extremely precise by foot whether it is kicking for goal or delivering to a team-mate.

The thing is, what has made him fire up all of a sudden ??

It is my strong belief (and I have nothing to back up this claim) that he has been told, in no uncertain terms, that unless he delivers to his optimal level every week, he will be dropped to the seconds until such time that he does start delivering. Further to that, if he ends up being in the seconds he will find himself in a new environment next year.

Gibbs is a player who prides himself on never playing seconds so that sort of threat would certainly be something he would want to avoid because he wouldn't like the embarrassment of being dropped. He has been quite comfortable at Carlton and if he was traded elsewhere, he would be under more intense scrutiny than ever before.

I'm sure Bolton would of spoken to all of the players individually and laid out what his expectations of them all was. With Gibbs, I reckon Bolton would not have minced his words and would of spelt out quite strongly that Gibbs had a higher level of demands being placed on him due to his seniority, contract status & overall ability.

Thankfully, he has responded and we are the beneficiaries. All he has to do now is 'maintain the rage' because those threats are there to stay.

Good coaching by Bolton, good response (for now) by Gibbs.

Do you actually believe some of the garbage you post. :rolleyes:

Your negative driven agenda towards Gibbs has become very tiresome and you haven't even watched the last 3 games by your own admission.

Time to give some credit where it is due.

Enough is enough!
 
The thing is, what has made him fire up all of a sudden ??

He can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

It's hard to give 110% when you know it's absolutely futile to do so. When everything around you is just so downright screwed that you can't make a difference no matter how hard you try.

We're out of the Malhouse dark days now, and Gibbs is reinvigorated. And he's not the only one!
 
Do you actually believe some of the garbage you post. :rolleyes:

Your negative driven agenda towards Gibbs has become very tiresome and you haven't even watched the last 3 games by your own admission.

Time to give some credit where it is due.

Enough is enough!


How about you read the post and understand the context it is written in ??

It is acknowledging Gibbs is playing good footy right now but is asking what has been the catalyst for him to step it up now. It is not an unfair question and based on the replies, is a valid discussion point as well.

If you can't see that then I can't help you.
 
Even at the top of his game, it appears Gibbs still has his detractors. Bryce has always been a class player, but like most of our good players, he's spent a lot of time in a poorly performed side. But for whatever reason, he's copped more flack than most...
I posted a while ago (whilst defending him AGAIN) , that the better we become as a team, the better Gibbs will be, to the point where he will become a dominant player, not just for us, but within the comp.
Personally, I'm not surprised by his current form, if you know anything about footy, you would've seen this coming.
If we win a few more games this year, he'll give the Brownlow a real shake.
Gibbs is all class, and he's finally part of a team that has given him the confidence and freedom to show what he's made of...
 

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The last time Bryce Gibbs played some decent consistent football was that stellar season he had leading into signing that end of season mega-contract of his. Since that deal was struck, he has been lethargic & spasmodic in most games only giving us the occasional teaser of what he is really capable of. This has frustrated many a Blues fan as he is one of a small handful of players who we have expected more from every week.

Whilst I haven't had the pleasure of watching the last three games due to no coverage up here in Sydney, the one thing that everyone I speak to talks about is how well Bryce Gibbs is playing right now. We have always known that he is a very smart player who knows where to get where the ball is going to be plus he is extremely precise by foot whether it is kicking for goal or delivering to a team-mate.

The thing is, what has made him fire up all of a sudden ??

It is my strong belief (and I have nothing to back up this claim) that he has been told, in no uncertain terms, that unless he delivers to his optimal level every week, he will be dropped to the seconds until such time that he does start delivering. Further to that, if he ends up being in the seconds he will find himself in a new environment next year.

Gibbs is a player who prides himself on never playing seconds so that sort of threat would certainly be something he would want to avoid because he wouldn't like the embarrassment of being dropped. He has been quite comfortable at Carlton and if he was traded elsewhere, he would be under more intense scrutiny than ever before.

I'm sure Bolton would of spoken to all of the players individually and laid out what his expectations of them all was. With Gibbs, I reckon Bolton would not have minced his words and would of spelt out quite strongly that Gibbs had a higher level of demands being placed on him due to his seniority, contract status & overall ability.

Thankfully, he has responded and we are the beneficiaries. All he has to do now is 'maintain the rage' because those threats are there to stay.

Good coaching by Bolton, good response (for now) by Gibbs.

Would doubt that Gibbs has ever been in peril of ending up in the magoos this year tbh, but I do expect he was given a list of non-negotiables to abide by and a list of KPIs to achieve this season. Having said that, I would hope a professional clubs' football department would do that with each and every player.

Personally I can take or leave Gibbs mainly because he's only fulfilled a fraction of his full potential, but this season so far:
  • His disposal output has continually and gradually increased.
  • The quality of his disposal by hand and foot has gradually improved.
  • Shown a lot more commitment to the contest (stopped squibbing) as the season has gone on.
  • Inside work has gradually improved game by game.
  • Couldn't really fault his commitment to the defensive side of his game on the weekend and for me this is the biggest area of his game he needed to improve upon. Worked pretty well off the ball and took up his position in defensive structures.
So while he's definitely shown some improvement, we're still only a 1/3 of the way through the season so I'd like to see how he goes for the rest of it before I dish out too many backslaps and taps on the arse.
 
How about you read the post and understand the context it is written in ??

It is acknowledging Gibbs is playing good footy right now but is asking what has been the catalyst for him to step it up now. It is not an unfair question and based on the replies, is a valid discussion point as well.

If you can't see that then I can't help you.

Oh I read your post in it's entirety word for word and the ONLY acknowledgement I can see is in the last 2 paragraphs:-

Thankfully, he has responded and we are the beneficiaries.

Good coaching by Bolton, good response (for now) by Gibbs.


The rest is digging the boots into Gibbs.

I stand by what I said that your negative driven agenda towards Gibbs has become very tiresome.
 
I think this is the first time that we have had some really good , even contributions from our midfield especially. In the days of Judd- it was Judd hauling us along- with a bit of Murphy. In more recent times Gibbs played really well in 2014, but Murph was slightly down due to the amount of tagging, and cripps was not really on the radar and injured. Last year Gibbs was injured. But this year we have all three of Cripps, Murph, and Gibbs firing. Then we have fantastic workhorses in Kerridge and Curnow . Some relief coming from fringe midfielders in sumner and wright and daisy + others. So Gibbs is having the load shared so much more than before and it is paying huge dividends. Add in the fact that our defence - particularly with Simpson and Docherty are in elite form, and they are taking a huge amount of pressure off the midfield by setting up our play in a calm and methodical manner , that allows our structure to remain tight and effective. The Players are running so much more effectively than say last year. This year the gut running is paying off with team defence being so much more effective, and our linking and spreading is putting real pressure on the opposition. Last year all that gut running seemed to just result in us chasing our own tail and was ineffective and ultimately demoralizing and hard to keep up. Gibbs is proving to be so much more effective in this environment - something that has been alluded to by others- that good players play so much better in a better team environment. With that in mind, it really does highlight the brilliance of Judd over those years with us- where he had very little support -yet was able to play the way he did and even drag us into the finals.
 
How about you read the post and understand the context it is written in ??

It is acknowledging Gibbs is playing good footy right now but is asking what has been the catalyst for him to step it up now. It is not an unfair question and based on the replies, is a valid discussion point as well.

If you can't see that then I can't help you.


Read: got injured during the preseason, then was shafted by the MRP, then tore his pectoral muscle

Yeah nah.

I tend to believe Bolts. It's about creating unity, creating an environment where people can thrive and everyone is questioned.

Everyone playing better, from the tallest poppy to the lowest whipping boy.

Improvements through ultimatums and threats isn't much of a coaching philosophy anymore.

I don't really see Bolton threatening players. Nor do I believe he'd be stupid enough to think that it'd get the best out of anyone.

Gibbs is probably playing well because he's fit, confident and feeling fully supported by the coaching staff.

From speculation to pure fiction. All sorts of other explanations possible but you chose one that denigrates the player and his achievement this year. Why not just appreciate that he is delivering this year?
 
Oh I read your post in it's entirety word for word and the ONLY acknowledgement I can see is in the last 2 paragraphs:-

Thankfully, he has responded and we are the beneficiaries.

Good coaching by Bolton, good response (for now) by Gibbs.


The rest is digging the boots into Gibbs.

I stand by what I said that your negative driven agenda towards Gibbs has become very tiresome.


Yeah, you read it all. :rolleyes:

the one thing that everyone I speak to talks about is how well Bryce Gibbs is playing right now. We have always known that he is a very smart player who knows where to get where the ball is going to be plus he is extremely precise by foot whether it is kicking for goal or delivering to a team-mate.

Your constant stalking and nit-picking has become quite tiresome too !!
 

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I don't really see Bolton threatening players. Nor do I believe he'd be stupid enough to think that it'd get the best out of anyone.

Gibbs is probably playing well because he's fit, confident and feeling fully supported by the coaching staff.

Or is it that with so many players now playing to a more team-orientated structure that he couldn't rest on his laurels any more ??

Clearly the overall playing list has a purpose and steely resolve, as an elder statesmen, he would be looked to for onfield leadership and a cool head in a crisis.
 
Since that deal was struck, he has been lethargic & spasmodic in most games only giving us the occasional teaser of what he is really capable of.
Since signing that deal, he continued his bnf form for the remaining 9 games of that season, had 10 average games last year (arguably due to injury) and then this year's games. Not as bad you're making out imo.
 
Since signing that deal, he continued his bnf form for the remaining 9 games of that season, had 10 average games last year (arguably due to injury) and then this year's games. Not as bad you're making out imo.

I'm not suggesting he has been a complete passenger all the way (he completely took Goodes to the cleaners in one game), we know he is capable of playing at a very high level but it is the consistency that has most people scratching their heads.
 

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Let's just be happy the last 4 games or so he's been very, very good and a pivotal part of our victories, not to mention displaying surprising intensity and aggression. Keep it up Bryce, at your best you are something to behold.
 
Once a perception sets in, it can be hard for us to rid ourselves of it.
Bryce has copped some flak at times and for good reasons but who hasn't at times through their career?

You couldn't have possibly watched the game vs Port and declared him being soft.......You just couldn't.
Gibbs has a role to play and he's been terrific more often than not, but watch out for the next quiet game you have Bryce........We're watching you :)
 

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Past Bryce Gibbs

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