PICTURE this – Carlton recruit Bryce Gibbs running towards goal, seconds away from kicking his 10th goal for the game. At the same time, imagine Bruce McAvaney ripping the microphone away from Dennis Cometti in the commentary box; unable to resist describing the action that is unfolding.

Bruce: “Oh, look at the young man go! Gibbs, isn’t he … a good player.”

Good player?

Yes, that is how Gibbs says he would prefer Bruce to describe him if such a moment arrived. The humble request mirrors the down-to-earth demeanour of this fresh-faced Blues recruit who, since birth, has known nothing but Australian rules football.

“Since I can remember, I have wanted to be a football player,” Gibbs said. “My old man played footy and I grew up in that environment.”

While growing up in Adelaide, the game of AFL football faced some stiff competition.

“I grew up playing every sport there was - basketball, cricket, soccer, tennis, marbles,” Gibbs said. “I just played everything.”

Yes, you read correctly, marbles.

“The grandfather of one of my mates from back home in Adelaide used to play. So we used to go over and play a few of his friends. He taught us a few tricks, which was good fun,” Gibbs explained.

Fortunately, for Blues and AFL fans, the boy from Glenelg ignored the highly lucrative marbles circuit and went the way of the mighty red Sherrin; no surprise, considering the football success of his father Ross.

“My first goal was to make round one and I have been lucky enough to do that,” Gibbs said. “In the next few weeks, I’d like to break into the midfield.”

Of course, if Gibbs gets his midfield wish, it is likely opposition players will target the first-year player, which would be fine by him.

“When I played seniors for Glenelg, the older and bigger players tried to intimidate me a fair bit,” he said. “But I don’t mind it. If anything, it just gets me going a bit more.”

And no wonder Gibbs gets so excited when talking about the prospect of starting in the centre for the Blues. Not only did his Dad play there, but it is also where he experienced his first eye-popping AFL moment.

“Against Essendon, at quarter time, Denis [Pagan] told me to follow James Hird around wherever he went. So, I lined up on him, looked at him and went, ‘Geez, here I am running around with this bloke’. Growing up I idolized him and obviously he’s one of the best players in AFL; so that was pretty special,” he said.

While Gibbs hopes to emulate the performances of players like James Hird, the former Glenelg Tiger is quick to point out he has a long way to go and has been “pretty lucky” to go straight from the SANFL into the Carlton senior side. Hence, the 18-year-old says has set himself a simple set of goals for the remainder of his first year in the AFL.

“I just want to play consistent footy and maintain my place in the team each week.” he said. “Hopefully I can keep it up and hopefully be recognized as a really good player at the end of the year.”

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.