Essendon great Matthew Lloyd says Bryce Gibbs is not in the class of a Patrick Dangerfield or Joel Selwood, as Carlton confirmed its board of directors would not make a pitch to the talented midfielder.
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Gibbs is off contract this season but has not followed the lead of skipper Marc Murphy, Kade Simpson or Andrew Walker in re-signing early in the year.
The Blues could offer Gibbs, 25, long-term security with a four or five-year deal. Industry sources believe he is worth about $600,000 a season. Lloyd said on Saturday Gibbs was not worth more than that.
‘‘Dale Thomas got paid over at Carlton. I can see Bryce Gibbs maybe thinking, ‘They have just paid Dale Thomas $700,000, surely the service I have given Carlton, maybe I am worth that’,’’ Lloyd said on 3AW.
‘‘He may look at that point of view. I saw [Joel] Selwood against the Adelaide Crows, he changed the game. He is worth $700,000. [Jobe] Watson changes games, [Patrick] Dangerfield changes games, that’s who you pay $700,000 to in the midfield. But I don’t think he is worth it.’’
South Australian Gibbs has attracted strong interest from the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide.
However, the Blues on Saturday denied suggestions their board would take the unusual step of presenting a long-term vision to the midfielder, who returned to the leadership group this year. Football operations chief Andrew McKay is handling talks with Gibbs’ manager, Nigel Carmody and any questions Gibbs and Carmody have will be directed to McKay.
Chief executive Greg Swann is also in the loop. Swann has said in his time in football he has never had to make a broad-ranging pitch to a player already at his club, but understands player empowerment is changing the manner of discussions.
Adelaide’s Dangerfield has declared he will only re-sign with the Crows next season if he is confident of enjoying on-field team success. He regularly questions list development and strategy manager David Noble.
Gibbs is still believed to want to remain at Carlton. The Blues also have the strong link between president Stephen Kernahan and Gibbs’ father to call on, with the pair close friends and former teammates at Glenelg.
As Gibbs, the No.1 pick of the 2006 draft, will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year, the Blues have the option of matching any offer.
Gibbs’ skills are elite but his highest finish in the Blues’ best and fairest has been third, in 2009 and 2011. He finished fifth last season.
He had been in good form through the pre-season and in the round-one loss to Port Adelaide but struggled to have an impact in the loss to Richmond on Thursday night.
The Blues are confident a new deal with fullback Michael Jamison will be inked soon.
Winless after two rounds, the Blues will know the immediate future of injured ruckman Matthew Kreuzer after he runs laps at training on Monday.
Kreuzer’s foot problem, which has already required surgery to insert screws into his right foot, has resurfaced, and he was a late withdrawal from last Thursday. If he does pull up well, he will avoid further surgery.
