THERE have been plenty of big games and big moments where Josh Gibson has stood up for Hawthorn.
Crucial spoils, courageous marks, precise left-foot passes… even an important goal or two.
This week, the dual Hawthorn best and fairest reaches 200 AFL games.
Sixty-five of those games were for North Melbourne, between 2006 and 2009, before Gibson was traded to Hawthorn at the end of 2010.
As the triple-premiership Hawk approaches the most significant milestone of his decorated career, he hopes it’s not one moment that stands out when people think of him, but that Hawthorn has won out of the trade that brought him to the club.
“When a club trades for you, they’re giving up picks and getting in a seasoned player, you just want to hope that when your career is over, the footy club and supporters are thinking ‘he was worth what we gave up’,” Gibson told hawthornfc.com.au.
“I hope that when it all comes to an end, that people look back and are like, ‘yeah it was a really good trade for the club, he was a really big part of helping the footy club’.
“Obviously for us there has been some success, and if people look at me that way, then I’m pretty happy.”
There’s no denying that Gibson has had a massive influence across seven years at Hawthorn, the club he supported growing up.
He was limited to just 12 games in his first season, 2010, before finishing runner-up in the Peter Crimmins Medal the following year. He’s gone from strength to strength since then, playing in four consecutive grand finals and winning the Peter Crimmins Medal in two premiership years – 2013 and 2015.
“It was a really tough decision (to leave North Melbourne),” Gibson said.
“You have to take yourself away from mates and stuff like that, and really look at it is as a business decision. I thought for my career, the way I played the game and what Hawthorn saw in me, that it was going to be a great opportunity for myself and more importantly for the footy club.
“Clarko saw me fitting into the defensive unit, and I hope that over the last seven years I’ve lived up to what he envisioned me doing for the club when they traded picks for me.”
For Gibson, it’s been about making the most of every opportunity.
He didn’t get picked up as an 18-year-old, instead heading to VFL club Port Melbourne before the Kangaroos picked him up as a rookie.
“It’s good to get to 200, although we’ve had so many big milestones at this club, I’ve been told that 200 games at this club is like winning a two-dollar scratchy – it’s pretty irrelevant when you’ve guys guys running around getting to 250 and 300,” Gibson joked.
“I’m a fair way down the pecking order in the Hawks’ system, because we’ve had so many great players.”
“Missing out on a few drafts, not getting picked up as an 18-year-old, spending a few years in the VFL… then getting rookie-listed, the goal was just to play one game.
“Did I think that I’d have this much success and manage to play 200 games? It was my wildest dream.”
Stay tuned for part two on Thursday night, where Gibson talks about premierships, his toughest opponents and much more.
