WHEN Bryce Gibbs' AFL career started  in 2007, he pledged - no matter the trend - to wear black boots  for his whole career. "That changed pretty quickly," he says with a smile. Within a year, he had moved to the white variety, a modern footy style he has stuck with since.

A lot else has changed for Gibbs after he moved to Melbourne from Adelaide as Carlton's prized No. 1 pick in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft.

His fashion sense has been overhauled (the baggy clothes were thrown out for a collection of tighter-fitting garments) and his penchant for a wider range of foods continues to grow. Having never had a coffee before leaving home, it has become part of his daily routine.

Gibbs has also gone from teenage prodigy to AFL star, and is one of the key planks in Carlton's resurgence and push towards a 17th premiership. Not that there was any doubt he would get to this point.

He is a footballer whose progress has been dissected and discussed since he was 15 and playing every Saturday for Brighton High School and on Sunday for Plympton Football Club in the beachside Adelaide suburb. He has grown up in the spotlight. "It can be hard at times," he says.

But the level of interest in his performance seems set to grow in 2012. Many expect Gibbs to take further, bigger steps this season and his coach Brett Ratten has said, on several occasions, he thinks the 23-year-old is ready to become one of the best players in the competition this year. Carlton captain Chris Judd has echoed those thoughts.

Gibbs remains a little surprised at the talk, but agrees he is ready to evolve as a player.

"I don't really know what to make of it," he says. "At first I thought it was thrown out there because there was nothing else to talk about, but it has kept on.

"They might be throwing a bit of a challenge to me, but the coaches and players are all really good in challenging each other all the time, especially this year as we want to go one better and make the top four.

"A lot of guys had great pre-seasons, but I am probably at the stage of my career where I'm ready to take the next step."

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