Former Carlton and Adelaide midfielder Bryce Gibbs has spoken on his time with the Crows, stating he has no regrets across the three seasons he spent in South Australia.
Gibbs joined the Crows at the end of the 2017 season and was limited to just 15 games in his final two years with Adelaide after falling out of favour.
Speaking on SEN SA's Kymbo and Rooch,ย Gibbs revealed he was content with his decision to call time on his career.
โI probably didnโt notice it initially straight away, but speaking to a lot of my friends and family and even guys from Melbourne, even just speaking to them on the phone, they could even tell in my voice how much happier I was in the way I spoke, which multiple people have told me,โ he said on SEN SAโs Kymbo & the Rooch.
โNow that I sit back and Iโve had time to reflect on it all and let it sink in a bit more, Iโm certainly very happy and very content with stepping away and out of the AFL bubble so to speak.
โNo doubt once the season rolls around again next year I will probably think about it a little bit more and be a little bit sad, but I certainly am very content with my decision.โ
The 31-year-old said his final two seasons with the Crows didn't go as planned, but he was accepting of the outcome.
โThe last couple of years havenโt gone the way I thought they wouldโve. More specifically the last two years,โ Gibbs said.
โIf you look at the last two years in isolation, they played out in two very different ways, I have no regrets from my end.
โI seeked the clarity I needed, I was open and honest in all of my dialogue with my coaches and where I was at and I think thatโs why I am so happy that I could walk away knowing that everything was left on the table.
โFor good, bad or indifferent reasons, thatโs the way things pan out sometimes whether you like them to or not.
โI didnโt necessarily agree with some of the things my coaches and the club were saying to me, but on the flip side what it did allow me to do is work with some of these young guys coming through at the Crows and that probably sparked my path that Iโve just taken a full-time role at the South Adelaide footy club now in player development.
โItโs funny how things work โฆ things donโt work out for you, but it opens up other doors going forward.
โIt is what it is.โ
Gibbs found himself on the outer of selection due to Adelaide prioritising younger players, something he managed to cope to with.
โThe club decided to blood a lot more youth, and as a senior player it is a hard pill to swallow at times, I suppose what was frustrating from my end is I was waiting for an opportunity to play some footy,โ Gibbs said.
โAnd I certainly was told that would be the case and there werenโt a lot of opportunities than what I was told there might be.
โThat was hard to swallow.
โIโd like to think I handled myself in a very professional way and didnโt crack the s***s and held my head up high and thatโs why I thanked a couple of people in my press conference. They kept me grounded and focused on things I could control, Iโm proud of the way Iโve handled it.โ
