Discarded forward Michael Gibbons has admitted he was left “bitterly disappointed” after being delisted by Carlton.
Gibbons spent three seasons and played 47 games for the Blues since his debut in 2019, but was not offered a new deal after being held to just 11 games due to injuries in 2021.
LIVE UPDATES: ‘Bad blood’ threatens to derail Hill’s Essendon move
Sensing he might not be retained by the club, Gibbons even sought out newly-appointed Blues coach Michael Voss to have a chat about his future, but it was ultimately to no avail.
“I’m pretty disappointed. It came as a bit of a shock, but that’s just the way footy clubs work,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“I could see the writing on the wall a little bit there from the latter part of the year once they announced the review.
“I could see things weren’t turning my way, just from conversations and then people stop talking to you and it sort of goes that way.
READ MORE: Deontay Wilder broke his hand during KO loss to Tyson Fury
“After the call I was bitterly disappointed and I’m pretty flat, to be fair.”
Gibbons was recruited after dominating the VFL level as a midfielder, but learned a forward role to fit into Carlton’s side, and pointed out the double standard in the club’s explanation about why he was being let go.
“When they gave me the flick, the justification that they saw me as a good midfielder and that I play my best footy in the midfield disappointed me a bit,” he said.
“They said they see me as a really good midfielder, but I never played one minute in the midfield for the Blues unfortunately.
READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo struggles in Turkish Grand Prix
“It never really occurred to me at the time because I was happy playing as a forward and learning the craft that way and thought I was contributing that way. In the end they sort of didn’t see it that way I guess.”
It was a tumultuous season at Carlton with the club’s poor results leading to a the sacking of coach David Teague and a lengthy review, one which Gibbons says took a toll on the playing group.
“It was incredibly stressful,” he continued.
“If you talk to anyone throughout that time, a lot of people will try to play it off, but you’ve got coaches who don’t know if they’ll be there next year having to perform weekly and stay positive and players in the same position.
“It creates a, I wouldn’t say toxic (environment), but it’s pretty unspoken. When you sit down and have a chat to blokes towards the latter end of the year, it was getting to everyone.
“No fault of the media, but it was in the media every day and it becomes a bit of a cycle.”