GWS Giants rookie Jason Gillbee’s wild milk reveal is completely nuts

GWS Giants rookie Jason Gillbee may have just revealed he has one of the weirdest quirks in professional sport that will have the club’s dietitians in the foetal position.

Originally from the NSW country town of Balranald around 850km west of Sydney, Gillbee relocated to Bendigo in Victoria three years ago.

It was there he starred for the Bendigo Pioneers in the NAB League.

And after he ranked equal first in the 2km time trial at the AFL Draft Combine, Gillbee was pre-drafted by the Giants as a category B rookie ahead of the rookie draft.

But the move three years ago seemed to coincide with his bizarre decision to replace all his water intake with milk — yes you read that right.

Revealed by AFL Media reporter Riley Beveridge who spent a week around the Giants’ pre-season, Gillbee shared the revelation as part of a Monday ritual where one player has to bring three items that are important to them.

Gillbee was reported as saying: “Mel (the club’s dietitian) wasn’t happy when she found out”.

While it seems a no-brainer than Gillbee is sponsored by a milk company sooner rather than later, he shared his unique hydration method on social media.

Commentators may already be licking their lips to regurgitate this fact, but it hasn’t necessarily endeared him to his teammates.

Writing under the Giants’ Instagram post, Gillbee joked: “Dad taught me to drink from the glass but we didn’t have any”.

No. 22 Draft pick Pick 22 Max Gruzewski added: “Trust me this gets annoying at home”.

Former Giant Tommy Sheridan also posted: “This bloke looks like a unit!”

It’s been speculated that Gillbee does it to put on some muscle mass and weight as he is listed at 191cm and 76kg, but it may not save him from any unfortunate injuries.

A 1997 Harvard University study on over 77,000 nurses who were followed for 10 years “found no significant difference in the numbers of arm or hip fractures between those who drank one glass of milk a week or less and those who drank two or more.”

The result was similar when performed in a study of 330,000 male health professionals.

A New Zealand study from 2015 which reviewed, combined and reanalysed 15 randomised control studies into calcium intake, including by drinking milk, showed there was a two year increase in bone mineral density but that after the two years, the increase stopped.

However, when it comes to adding weight and muscle, a 2008 study found “fat free milk is as effective as, and possibly even more effective than, commercially available sports drinks at promoting recovery from strength and endurance exercise”.

So maybe the kid is onto something …

Source: Staff Writers from News.com.au, 1 February 2023