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DISCARDED Kangaroo endurance king Sam Gibson is preparing to plead his case - face to face - with opposition clubs in a bid to prolong his late-starting AFL career.
North Melbourne announced Gibson's delisting last Friday, with the 31-year-old already in Bali with his wife Jade and their 11-month-old son Seb. They will return to Melbourne next week.
Gibson's playing status could have been different had the Roos lured prime targets Dustin Martin and Josh Kelly to Arden St in moves that would have rocketed short-term expectations.
Kangaroos swing the axe on two more
"I'm a pretty rational person and it still can be hard to fathom that you can be in the best 22 for 130 weeks, finish sixth in the best and fairest and not get a contract," Gibson told AFL.com.au.
"But I guess that's just the nature of our game.
"It actually reminds me a lot of when I was 25 and I was hanging out for a draft and speaking with clubs. I was pretty driven then, without knowing what to expect.
"But I'm more driven now, because I've had a taste of it and I know I can compete at the level and it makes me all that more hungry to get excited about the next opportunity – and hopefully I get one."
Gibson owns the AFL's longest active consecutive games streak at 130 matches, the second-most from debut behind ex-Swan Jared Crouch's 194.
The hard-running wingman shook off a badly broken nose last year – suffered when a 20kg barbell fell on his face – to keep the run going.
Gibson finished third in the Kangaroos' best and fairest last season and sixth this year, but became a "victim of circumstance" as the club embarks on a full-blown rebuild.
Former skipper Andrew Swallow, Jarrad Waite, Lindsay Thomas and Scott Thompson are set to be the only players 30 or older on North’s list at the start of next season. Swallow and Thomas had contracts in place for 2018.
North put contract talks on hold mid-season with Gibson's manager, Ben Williams, of Players Ink, but it was only when the situation extended beyond the season that reality sunk in.
Gibson averaged 22.1 disposals, 4.5 score involvements and 3.2 tackles this year, and showed his versatility in restricting Adelaide star Rory Sloane to 18 disposals in a tagging role in round seven.
"I think it's an industry driven by results and, unfortunately, this year we weren't where we needed to be as a club, so that means the club had to make some hard decisions," he said.
"In some ways, you actually admire the conviction of them to make those decisions, however it wasn't a decision I agreed with."
Gibson, who has a double degree in engineering and commerce, had to wait until he was 26 years old to play his first AFL game in 2012, after a false start on Hawthorn's rookie list five years earlier.
But he said that meant his body was still fresh and he could potentially play for up to four more seasons "if given the opportunity".
"I pride myself on my training standards and ability to do whatever it takes to get my body right to play footy every week," Gibson said.
"I still feel like I've got a lot to offer. I'm a young 31-year-old, in many ways.
"I've been exposed to the rigours of AFL for only six years … and I still felt like this year I had a really consistent year and finished high in our best and fairest, so I absolutely feel like I have a lot to give."
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