Gibson missed three months with a hamstring injury, but made his return with VFL side Box Hill on Sunday. While he gathered 20 touches as a rebounding defender, teammate Tom Murphy said on Monday morning that Gibson will stay with Box Hill for at least another week.
“I went along yesterday and watched him at Box Hill. He did some really good stuff, and he’ll probably have some more game time this week in the VFL and then come up for selection probably the week after,” Murphy said.
“It’s been a credit to him. He’s done a lot of work with rehab guys and got back quickly, so it is a bit of a pat on the back for him. Hopefully we’ll see him back soon.”
The Hawks have won their past six games after losing five in a row, with Murphy believing Hawthorn's winning ways have come about largely because of a change in attitude by the playing list.
“After about round seven, we were scratching our heads looking for something that could turn us around. We went back to the drawing board with a bit of hard work and individual soul-searching, I suppose. It is more a change of attitude,” he said.
“It is a bit of a cliché, but we really were one week at a time and looking back we were able to put a couple of games together. I suppose now we want to be playing finals footy. We’ll take each game as it comes for the rest of the year, and the next month can be pretty hard. We just want to be there in September.”
This week’s meeting with the Bulldogs is the second time the two sides have met this year, with the Dogs winning the round three clash by 16 points. Murphy described the Bulldogs, who sit fifth on the ladder after 13 rounds, as "a pretty quality team".
“Round three they were really good against us and beat us. I’m looking forward to taking them on again this week. We know it’s going to be a tough game (and) it would be a good one for us to win," he said.
“They’ve got a whole range (of forward options). Barry Hall is a big focal point now, but you can’t forget those other blokes. They always chip in for a couple of goals.”
