Sam Gilbert put three injury interrupted seasons firmly in the rear vision mirror this season, playing all 22 games to re-establish himself as one of the most versatile players at Linen House Centre.
The experienced defender began 2016 playing as a tall midfielder, pushed forward at times towards the middle part of the season, before returning to his natural habitat in defence. Gilbert was called upon to plug a hole wherever something was leaking.
After managing only 26 games across the last three years due to persistent injuries, and never more than 11 in one season under Alan Richardson’s watch, Gilbert became an integral part of St Kilda’s back six, particularly in the back half of the season.
The 30-year-old finished just outside the top-ten in the Trevor Barker Award, polling votes at an even rate across the season.
The best game of Gilbert’s year came in the narrow loss to North Melbourne in Round 7, where he gathered 24 disposals, seven inside 50s and six rebound 50s to demonstrate how damaging he can be through the midfield.
Universally loved across the club, Gilbert was awarded the Robert Harvey Best Clubman award following another season of selfless service on the ground and away from football through his involvement in the inaugural Pride Game in Round 21.
Alan Richardson’s Views:
“Gilbo became a bit of a Mr Fix it because he’s such an impressive athlete; he wins the ball; he’s a really good size. The plan going into the year was he was going to play a lot more midfield because we just felt we were lacking a bit of size in there and his defensive characteristics were going to support that group and allowed us to be a bit more aggressive with the way we hunted clearance, and certainly that was positive early. We then needed, particularly after ‘Chips’ went down just before the bye, we really needed ‘Gilbo’ to play in defence and we all know how good he has been in that position for such a long time at this club. We needed him to go back and do that and he was quite impressive back there.
“It excites me that ‘Gilbo’s’ been able to have a run like he did this year. In my first two years, he just couldn’t get to the line really and at times played when he was underdone for the betterment of the team. He’s one of the more impressive people I’ve met in footy, just through the way he cares so much for his teammates. If he misses a game of footy at AFL level he goes down and works with the VFL boys on game day at Sandringham; he goes and visits his teammates in hospital when they get injured; there’s a lot of love and admiration for ‘Gilbo’ at this footy club – he’s a great competitor on the field and his an outstanding teammate off it.”
The Numbers:
22 games
15.0 possessions
3.5 marks
3.3 tackles
2.3 inside 50s
1.8 rebound 50s
