“THERE’S a few people that give me that advice.

"Especially Gibbons.”

Since becoming the Senior Coach of the Carlton Football Club, there’s a certain piece of advice that has constantly come across David Teague’s desk.

Get Michael Gibbons into the midfield.

In the last fortnight especially, the two-time J.J. Liston Trophy winner has repaid the faith shown in him by the Senior Coach.

Gibbons collected 18 disposals on Saturday night, with nine of those coming in the first quarter as the Blues burst out of the blocks against the Cats.

It was the second straight performance where Gibbons’ energy around the ball was key for Carlton, and the man himself is hopeful of continuing that form.

As he adjusted to AFL life, he said it had been a steep learning curve to get up to speed with an unfamiliar role as a small forward.

“It was a lot more [learning] than I thought it would entail. I’ve never really played football there and I had to get my head around that at the start, it was a bit of an adjustment,” Gibbons said on AFL Nation.

“The second half of last year, ‘Teaguey’ put me up around the ball a bit and at the start of this year: it’s been good to get up there as that fifth midfielder.

“The learning has been massive, I’m just happy to cement a spot in the team.”

Speaking on radio on Monday morning, Teague credited Gibbons and Jack Martin for getting the Blues going against Melbourne, and it was a similar story on Saturday night.

The main difference was that Carlton brought the heat from the outset against Geelong: a trend which Gibbons and the playing group are hoping to make their brand.

“We’ve spoken about our brand of football and to be fair, I don’t think the public would’ve recognised what that is,” he said.

“We’re spoken a lot about our pressure and that being our brand: [Saturday] night we were able to show that.”

Of course, Gibbons’ small forward role from 2019 has been filled by none other than Eddie Betts.

Gibbons credited the veteran for his personal development last week, and he once again singled out Saturday night’s match-winner for his influence on the collective.

“I played most of the year last year in that small forward position and it’s a tough one: it’s not my normal position,” he said.

“For Eddie to come back, he’s an absolute master at it. He takes the best small defender, they’re so attracted to Eddie.

“The way he moves and sets up his teammates is unbelievable.”