St Kildaโs veteran defender Sam Gilbert says he has intentions to play on next year whether or not the Saints offer him a new contract.
โIโve got aspirations to continue to play. I think Iโm good enough to be out there with the boys,โ Gilbert told Fox Sports.
โI donโt have a manager and I havenโt spoken to the club yet.
โIโm in no rush. I just like to wait until the end of the year. Then weโll sit down, have a chat, and Iโm sure whatever the decision is it will be mutual.โ
The 202-gamer is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this year and with the rise of the St Kilda backline, it is looking more unlikely that they will offer Gilbert a new contract.
โAbsolutely,โ Gilbert said of a potential move.
โI think once youโve been in the football environment โ and growing up itโs something you want to do โ you know, I havenโt lost my passion at all.
โItโs something Iโd love to continue to do.โ
Despite being out of favour with the selection committee, Gilbert believes his experience is invaluable for developing the Saintsโ young backline.
โI think it shows that you do need leadership and maturity in the backline. I think I bring that,โ the 31-year-old said.
โI havenโt at this stage lost my pace. Iโd really like to be part of it and help the young boys develop, whatever roll that is.โ
Gilbert also responded to the harsh comments made by his former captain and good friend Nick Riewoldt on the Saintsโ poor start to the season.
โIโve obviously played a lot of football with Roo and he is an incredible leader, incredible bloke and a good friend of mine,โ he said.
โThatโs his opinion and heโs totally entitled to that.
โI see internally that at every review we have weโre trying to improve.โ
The defender believes the club is heading in the right direction after their come-from-behind win against Gold Coast last weekend.
โI think in that last quarter the boys played incredibly well and it showed the blueprint of how we want to play,โ Gilbert said.
โIf we can match that going into next weekโs game Iโm sure weโll be in a position to win, or at least being in the game.โ
