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, Gibbs revealed he was content with his decision to call time on his career.
“I probably didn’t 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,” he said on SEN SA’s Kymbo & the Rooch.
“Now that I sit back and I’ve had time to reflect on it all and let it sink in a bit more, I’m certainly very happy and very content with stepping away and out of the AFL bubble so to speak.
“No 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.”
The 31-year-old said his final two seasons with the Crows didn't go as planned, but he was accepting of the outcome.
“The last couple of years haven’t gone the way I thought they would’ve. More specifically the last two years,” Gibbs said.
“If you look at the last two years in isolation, they played out in two very different ways, I have no regrets from my end.
“I 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 that’s why I am so happy that I could walk away knowing that everything was left on the table.
“For good, bad or indifferent reasons, that’s the way things pan out sometimes whether you like them to or not.
“I didn’t 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 I’ve just taken a full-time role at the South Adelaide footy club now in player development.
“It’s funny how things work … things don’t work out for you, but it opens up other doors going forward.
“It is what it is.”
Gibbs found himself on the outer of selection due to Adelaide prioritising younger players, something he managed to cope to with.
“The 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,” Gibbs said.
“And I certainly was told that would be the case and there weren’t a lot of opportunities than what I was told there might be.
“That was hard to swallow.
“I’d like to think I handled myself in a very professional way and didn’t crack the s***s and held my head up high and that’s why I thanked a couple of people in my press conference. They kept me grounded and focused on things I could control, I’m proud of the way I’ve handled it.”