What Has Turned Around Bryce Gibbs ??

[DJC]

Interesting post BM. He's been through 5 coaches (Pagan, Ratts, MM, Barker and now Bolton), and off the top of my head 3 of those have given Gibbs very good public wraps. Pagan predicted he would be the best of the 3 No1's, MM declared him untouchable, and Bolts has also talked him up, in his typical, keeping-a-lid-on-it manner.

You may indeed have a point, although I've gone to town on him at times, so I shouldn't talk.

Rattan was another fan:

Ratten said Gibbs, the 2006 No.1 draft pick and third in the best-and-fairest in 2009 and last season, was ready to take the next step.

"He's a player with great skill and he's had a very good pre-season," he said.

"His ability to play multiple positions might go under the radar of people out there.

"But his versatility from a team point of view is something that's probably not respected as much as it is internally here, because we see what value he has and I think his best-and-fairest results have shown how much we value his role at the club and what he does for the team.

However, Ratten, like Pagan and, to a lesser extent, Malthouse, continued to use Gibbs off halfback where he successfully negated opponents but his elite ability to make good decisions and use the ball well was wasted. 

[PaulP]

Rattan was another fan:

However, Ratten, like Pagan and, to a lesser extent, Malthouse, continued to use Gibbs off halfback where he successfully negated opponents but his elite ability to make good decisions and use the ball well was wasted.

Thanks DJC - as if I needed another reason to like Ratts...........

Maybe he was used off HB out of necessity ? Maybe not ?

[Amers]

It has always struck me in the way he plays that he is trying to implement the Coach's instruction and the fact that he is so disciplined in his approach to the game that he has curbed his natural instinct to chase the ball and followed team instructions. We have played him at centre half back, tagging people like Adam Goodes and playing a loose man in defence, yet he won his B&F playing as a mid-fielder and he will go close to a second one this year doing the same.

This, i reckon this is spot on. I remember once hearing that he was so dominant in his junior days, that his coaches had to strictly tell him to share the ball around with his team mates. He was good enough to dominate on his own, but he was forced to change the way he played. Now that he is playing at the top level, he needs to be allowed to dominate again, not selfishly, but when he can or when necessary.

[flyboy77]

Better judges think otherwise    But it would have to be a close call.  The fact that we have two players in outstanding form, and several others in or close to career best form, is a pretty powerful indicator that our club is in good hands 

And how bad, even off the rails, we were for so long before that.....

[sandsmere]

And how bad, even off the rails, we were for so long before that.....

About 15 years.