One of the more inspiring success stories in recent AFL memory continues this Sunday when Sam Gibson plays his 100th game for North Melbourne.
The 30-year-old’s path to earning a spot at North is well documented, from the initial draft by Hawthorn, subsequent delisting and then the VFL apprenticeship at Box Hill.
He’s now on the verge of becoming the first Roo to play 100 games consecutively from debut, and also the first to reach 100 matches in the number 43 jumper.
In his own words, Sam Gibson looks back at his key moments at Arden Street so far.
Fitting in
After being selected in the Rookie Draft, Gibson arrived at Arden Street as a 25-year-old mature age recruit. He spent the first half of 2012 in the VFL at Werribee.
“Because I’d come from a work/VFL environment I was probably doing longer hours before the AFL.
“But certainly the physicality and backing up for an AFL pre-season is pretty tough. I got to the start of the 2012 season and there was a spot open to promote a rookie. When (the club) promoted ‘Fishy’ (Aaron Mullett), I knew at that stage I had to bide my time.
“While it was disappointing, the positive was that I wasn’t worrying about selection every week – I had to wait either for an injury or for mid-year.
“There was no pressure to perform for a spot, it was just literally just going back (to the VFL) and playing consistently well enough so when the mid-season promotion came, I was in the perfect spot.
“By the time I came into the side I was ready to play. If I had an opportunity earlier, I don’t know whether it might have been too much.
“By mid-season I’d fit in, I knew a lot of guys and I was comfortable here. I’d been playing the North Melbourne brand of footy at Werribee. It made the transition seamless and there was certainly no stress.”
A lead role
Gibson made his debut in Round 12, 2012 against Gold Coast and immediately consolidated his spot in North’s best 22.
35 games into his AFL career, Gibson’s teammates voted him into the club’s leadership group at the start of 2014.
“It was a bit of a shock to be honest. I didn’t feel like I was out there seeking it, or trying really hard to find my way in there.
“I must have been doing things that the guys thought were worthy of (a leadership spot). That was a good experience, to be able to appreciate what happens behind the scenes.
“As a player, often you don’t realise how much the leadership group and coaches are talking about things that we don’t even know about.
“When I got voted into the leadership group I’d played 30-odd games. While I was just as mature and physically mature as the other guys, I was really inexperienced in AFL terms.
“That was a bit of a balancing act to try and guide guys who had played more footy than me. That’s something I struggled with initially, but then I figured out I’d been voted in for a reason.
“I might not have played a lot of AFL games but I’d played a lot of senior footy and that counts for something.”
Challenges
At the start of his fourth season on North’s list, Gibson had played 60 consecutive, consistent games. But a downturn in his performances had the midfielder battling to stay in the AFL side in 2015.
“In the middle of last year I had a bit of a lull, and it’s something that every player goes through.
“I was fighting for my spot every week. It can sometimes be a good thing because it keeps you on the edge, but it certainly wasn’t a good thing from a form point of view.
“The hard thing is you want to change everything (to get form back), but in reality – and if I had my time again – it’s about simplifying things.
“I’d focus on a few key areas and try to ignore selection pressure. That’s a big mental burden for a lot of guys, about whether they’ll play next week. I’ve had that for most of my career, so while I’ve dealt with it reasonably well for a long time, I probably didn’t deal all that well with it last year.
“To fight hard, keep my spot and come out of it on the other end was probably a positive in the end.”
Standing up when it matters
Heading into last season’s finals, Gibson was handed a slightly different role. His running power, so often used to create offensive drive for North, was used more defensively.
“We identified in finals that it’s really contested footy. If an opposition team has an outside player who can break lines and create a bit of run it can be really damaging.
“We said before the Richmond game that (Brandon) Ellis is a guy who does that, so let’s try and nullify him. It worked, and then the next week it was (Lewis) Jetta and then (Andrew) Gaff.
“Finals footy can be a lot of pressure so for me to go in with a simple role was good.
“I accepted a long time ago that my position in the side was role-specific, so that means from week to week it’s going to shift.
“Versatility in football is huge, and that’s how you keep your spot in the side by proving you can do a lot of things.”
Enemy territory
Ever the team player, Gibson’s milestone is secondary to him this week. Travelling to Perth, the scene of so many key moments for the Kangaroos under Brad Scott’s tenure, means the focus is all on the four points.
“There’ll be a bit of family there (at Domain Stadium). It’s nice it’s Andrew (Swallow’s) 200th so I can slip under the radar a bit.
“Us as footballers struggle to acknowledge things as they happen, because we’re so focused on the game and trying to do well in the game and the remainder of the season.
“It’s something I can look back on when I retire and while it’s not a huge amount of games, it feels like a lot of games for me for where I’ve come from.
“To have my name on the locker and be able to look back and see it, it’ll be pretty nice.
“Travelling anywhere is hard, and Perth is just that little bit harder because it’s a long way away and the crowd is so vocal.
“It’s a ground West Coast train on and they obviously play it pretty well. We’ve played there so many times, it seems like we’ve played there a lot in the last three or four years.
“We’re really used to playing there and we know our surroundings. We know the hotel, we know the change rooms so we’re as comfortable as we can be.”
