Open training – Thursday at Arden Street, 11.30am-12.30pm approx. Autographs, sausage sizzle and merchandise available.

Sam Gibson used to fly under the radar and he used to like it that way. However a 35-possession game against Geelong in the semi-final blew his cover.

Heading into North’s preliminary final against Sydney, he knows he may have to play another career best game to help the Roos over the line.

“I would love to have no one know who I am outside these walls,” Gibson told the Herald Sun.

“The coaches are really good at giving you feedback so that you know your worth internally, and that’s all that really matters to me.

“I understand the spotlight is on you in finals. And last week there was only one game in Victoria for the weekend, so everything is going to be magnified.

“I’ve played games like that in the past and haven’t got too much of a mention, which is fine. I’m pretty comfortable that the coaches and the players respect what I do internally and that’s the main thing that I am concerned about.”

North took a punt on Gibson in 2012 and listed him as a rookie. The 28-year-old debuted against Gold Coast in Round 12 that season and since then, he has not missed a match with his elite fitness and work-rate the features of his game.

“It probably took five or six years after the age of 18 to build that fitness base and then to know how hard you can actually push yourself,” he said.

“Our pre-season was just massive. The facts are that we are really starting to see the benefits of all that hard work now.”

On average, Gibson runs between 15-16km a game.

“You do a lot more running when you are defending, so if we are controlling the game, we are not usually running as much,” Gibson said.

“For me, it is more about finding a sustained effort and actually maintaining it for as long as I can, rather than (measuring it) as a gross distance.”

With so many ball-hunters in the North side, Gibson says his role is to get on the outside and run.

“My game for most of the year has been based around uncontested possessions because guys like ‘Cunners’ (Ben Cunnington), ‘Ziebs’ (Jack Ziebell) and Andrew Swallow do that,” he said.

“At times on the weekend it was my job to go in and get it, and it is good to have that sort of flexibility to do that.”