Many were surprised when Michael Gibbons was not offered a new contract by Carlton.
Even the man himself, to a degree.
The 26-year-old was delisted last week after spending three years with the Blues.
Gibbons, who joined the club as a pre-season supplemental selection in 2019, played 47 games in the navy blue before his time at Ikon Park was ended.
Having battled hamstring injuries in 2021 which restricted him to just 11 appearances, Gibbons admits the writing was on the wall as the club endured an external review of the football department.
“I’m pretty disappointed. It came as a bit of a shock, but that’s just the way footy clubs work,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“I could see the writing on the wall a little bit there from the latter part of the year once they announced the review.
“I could see things weren’t turning my way, just from conversations and then people stop talking to you and it sort of goes that way.
“After the call I was bitterly disappointed and I’m pretty flat, to be fair.”
Gibbons was taken on by the Blues as a top VFL midfielder who twice won the JJ Liston Trophy and once the Norm Goss Medal in a successful stint at Williamstown.
However, he was primarily used as a small forward in the AFL and ultimately that cost him his career at Carlton.
“When I first got there I was a pretty dominant midfielder in the VFL,” he added.
“‘Bolts’ (Brendon Bolton) was in charge when I first got there and the need for a small pressure forward was basically the only way I could get a spot on the list.
“So I went for that, but then in the end I was solely focused on that and I genuinely enjoyed putting time into that.
“When they gave me the flick, the justification that they saw me as a good midfielder and that I play my best footy in the midfield disappointed me a bit.
“They said they see me as a really good midfielder, but I never played one minute in the midfield for the Blues unfortunately.
“It never really occurred to me at the time because I was happy playing as a forward and learning the craft that way and thought I was contributing that way. In the end they sort of didn’t see it that way I guess.”
Gibbons received the news from head of football Brad Lloyd, list manager Nick Austin and Michael Voss, even after putting his case forward to the new head coach.
“I’d been into the club a bit over the last few weeks trying to get my hamstring right and I met him (Voss) a couple of times,” Gibbons said.
“When I felt like it wasn’t going my way, I’m never one to go without a fight, so I took ‘Vossy’ aside for a couple of hours and we had a nice walk and chat and I put my case forward a bit.
“He was really receptive and transparent with me and nice and honest. He’s new to the club and it’s a hard position for him so I’ll hold no grudges in that way at all.”
Having experienced the media circus of the club’s external review, Gibbons acknowledged that it was a difficult time.
He said it did have an impact on the atmosphere at the club.
“It was incredibly stressful,” he continued.
“If you talk to anyone throughout that time, a lot of people will try and play it off, but you’ve got coaches who don’t know if they’ll be there next year having to perform weekly and stay positive and players in the same position.
“It creates a, I wouldn’t say toxic (environment), but it’s pretty unspoken. When you sit down and have a chat to blokes towards the latter end of the year, it was getting to everyone.
“No fault of the media, but it was in the media every day and it becomes a bit of a cycle.”
The Murray Bushrangers product says his stubbornness will push him into having another crack at the elite level provided there are interested clubs out there.
“Yeah, 100 per cent, I definitely want to get another crack at it,” he said of his future.
“I’m too stubborn not to. I 100 per cent want to continue the journey. It’s just another bump in the road.
“If it’s not be, it’s not to be, but I definitely want to prove people wrong again.”
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