Sam Gibson was named the new captain of the Box Hill Hawks for season 2011 on Wednesday night.
A meeting of the playing group after training saw the announcement made, with Beau Muston named as vice captain and new recruit, Adam Pattison named as deputy vice captain.
Gibson has been with the Box Hill Hawks since being recruited from the Oakleigh Chargers in 2006, and played in the Hawks Reserve Premiership that year. Recruited by Hawthorn as a rookie in 2007, Gibson played much of his time with Box Hill and when he was released from Hawthorn in 2009, he immediately signed back with Box Hill as a VFL listed player.
Gibson, who is 24, has played 85 games with Box Hill and if he stays injury free, will play his 100th this season. This will earn him Life Membership with the club he has played his entire senior career with. A great feat considering the transient nature of the VFL competition.
New club coach, Damian Carroll praised the new captain saying, “Gibbo has really impressed me with his strong leadership skills and his ability to relate to both the younger players and the more experienced, which is vital in the VFL. His form over the past few seasons has been first rate and he is ready to stamp himself as a big name within the VFL.”
Gibson is a graduate engineer and although he feels the occasional pang of the dream of playing AFL football, his priority is leading the Box Hill Hawks in season 2011.
“When I was delisted by Hawthorn, my main objective was to concentrate on my own game and work on consistency. Now that I have achieved that, the progression to being a senior figure and now captain of the club is very exciting,” Gibson said.
Gibson is joined by Muston and Pattison in the main captaincy, with the rest of the leadership group to be named within the next couple of weeks. Muston has joined the Box Hill Hawks from affiliate partner Hawthorn and has instantly made his mark on the young group. He was drafted by Hawthorn in 2005 but struggled with a knee injury to his ACL. He was injured during season 2006, played 2007 with Box Hill, was injured in 2008 and made his AFL debut in 2009.
Adam Pattison was drafted pick number 16 in the 2004 draft to Richmond. He played 56 games with the Tigers from 2005-2009 and was then picked up by St Kilda where he played a further five games. Adam will play as a forward with time spent in the ruck and will assist the development of the young Box Hill ruckmen. Adam won the Northern Knights best and fairest in 2004 and Coburg’s best and fairest in 2005 and is a great pick up for the Box Hill Hawks.
Paul Hooper
Last Modified on 25/02/2011 09:44