Talented Adelaide Crow Bryce Gibbs is likely to remain in the SANFL again this week as the reasons for his omission from the senior team emerge in a new report.

According to The Age:

A lack of body-on-body contact at stoppages and poor defensive running have been the major reasons Bryce Gibbs has been out of favour at Adelaide…

Gibbs has been dropped twice in 2019 – the first time after he had 27 disposals in round three against Geelong, and then was dropped again after Adelaide’s one-point loss to Brisbane in round nine, when he picked up 22 possessions and booted two goals, but did not apply enough body on Lions’ playmaker Lachie Neale at stoppages or perform the defensive duties expected of him…

If the lack of body-on-body contact applied was one reason for his omission, the other major factor has been what the coach felt was poor defensive running, or defensive transition work.

Like many highly talented midfielders, this area has been a challenge for Gibbs for much of his career and the Crows were aware it was not his forte when they acquired him in a blockbuster trade from Carlton.

On Tuesday, Gibbs called his conversation with Pyke “confronting” but said he would not “whinge and sook” about the coach’s decision to keep him out of the side.