Carlton fans were in raptures as Bryce Gibbs' tally of kicks and handballs mounted to a phenomenal 45 against West Coast on Sunday, cheering his every touch late in the game.

But the player himself was more interested in less glamorous statistics such as "trails" and "sags".

The 21-year-old's move into defence against Adelaide in round four coincided with a surge in the Blues' form, the club notching five wins in seven games since, after winning just one of their first three.

There have been numerous other contributing factors, notably the return from suspension of captain Chris Judd, but Gibbs' move from the midfield has clearly been a winner.

He was superb against West Coast on Sunday, barely wasting a touch as he set up play from the backline and midfield and also kicked a goal.

But asked how he assessed his own performance, he said it was the defensive statistics he placed most weight on.

"Brett Montgomery, the defensive coach, he's massive on defending first and then attacking," Gibbs said.

"... We're big on no trails, I'll find out how many sags and how many no-trails I've had and I'll probably personally (assess) my game after I've found out those stats." Trails and sags refer to allowing an opponent space to gain easy possessions, either by trailing behind as they lead up the ground, or "sagging off" rather than applying tight one-on-one pressure.

While Gibbs values those statistics, he said tallies of kicks and handballs could often be "junk footy", particularly in defence.

Although in Gibbs' case, there are few players the Blues would rather have the ball, coach Brett Ratten described his ball use as "magnificent".

Gibbs' brilliant performance came days after signing on for two more seasons, but he said the contract negotiations had not affected him.

"It was never really an issue, I had until the end of the year to sign, so there was plenty of time," he said.

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