“So excited”: Yze bullish on Gibcus after strong pre-seasonBy SEN
9 Feb 2026Richmond coach Adem Yze is really excited about what defender Josh Gibcus could produce in 2026.
The 22-year-old has endured a horrid injury run since his impressive first year in the AFL in 2022, missing all of 2023 due to a recurring hamstring injury before tearing his ACL in 2024.
That injury ruled him out for most of 2025, until he finally made his return at the top level against Geelong in Round 24.
Having played just one game since March in 2024, Gibcus will feel like a new recruit for the Tigers in 2026, and Yze expects him to flourish with some luck this time around.
“He’s going really well,” Yze told SEN Fireball.
“He obviously played a handful of games late last year. I was really eager to get him into the AFL team, especially for that last game, just to have a sense of what it was, get the feeling and the speed of the game again.
“I wanted to make sure he knew that he was an AFL player. He’d be out of the system and out of the game for two years. I wanted him to get that feeling to go away over pre-season as an AFL player.
“He has come back really fit; he did some off-season running, he has got some belief in his body, so he’s starting to really see the benefits of that, and so are we.
“I’m so excited for him, I keep touching wood every time I talk about him, but he just needs some luck. He is a highly talented kid, really driven, and he really deserves that luck.
“You’ll see him in the next few weeks when we start playing against opposition.”
Gibcus will hope to line up for Richmond when they face Carlton in Round 1 at the MCG on Thursday, March 12.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2026/02/08/afl-2026-richmond-coach-adem-yze-on-josh-gibcus-injury-tigers-return
