Paul Roos sings praises of GWS star Stephen Coniglio as rival club’s salivate

It took him a while to learn the tune but Paul Roos has joined the resounding chorus of support for Giants’ potential free agent Stephen Coniglio, whose asking price has been sent into another stratosphere.

It took him a while to learn the tune but Paul Roos has joined the resounding chorus of support for Giants’ potential free agent Stephen Coniglio, whose asking price has been sent into another stratosphere.

Inexplicably brushed from last year’s All-Australian team, Coniglio is suddenly the hottest property on the AFL open market, and after carving up Essendon in round one, he has refused to set himself a deadline for making his decision.

The GWS social media team went viral last week with a cheeky video (to the tune of Phil Collins’ 1980s hit Sussudio) educating commentators on the pronunciation of Coniglio’s surname.

CHEEKY: HOW TO PRONOUNCE ‘CONIGLIO’

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The GWS social media team didn’t miss Paul Roos in their entertaining Stephen Coniglio video.

They reminded him he has been mis-saying the young guns name.

Yes, that’s right, Coniglio.

Fox Footy expert Paul Roos was singled out for “getting it wrong since his debut.”

Roos reached out to Coniglio to innocently apologise after being shown the video by his son, and midway through the star midfielder’s Sunday masterclass against the Bombers, the former Sydney premiership-winning coach was in full voice about the biggest sound in the west of the town.

“I texted him after the game and I said, ‘mate after your third goal I started singing the song again!’” Roos told The Daily Telegraph.

“My son said last week, ‘have you heard this song?’ I go and have a listen and I was listening to this really catchy song ‘Coniglio’ and I’m going ‘oh this is pretty cool’ and then I started to get it on my mind and I’m thinking, ‘what the hell has it got to do with me?’

“Then all of a sudden the part with me came on and I was laughing,” said Roos about his ‘hard G’ pronunciation.

“I text him (last week) and he rang back and we had a chat and he actually said, ‘I’m a bit embarrassed’.

“… I know sometimes the marketing team can do things and it pisses people off but it was all good fun, I thought it was pretty funny.

“I just said ‘make sure you apologise to your mum and dad’.”

Stephen Coniglio has a bit of a laugh after the win over Essendon. Picture: AAP

GWS coach Leon Cameron claims he is increasingly confident that Coniglio will re-sign as the Giants circle in on securing the Perth-born star and his midfield ally Josh Kelly.

But former Saint Nick Dal Santo was one of many commentators saying the Giant will have a tough decision to make, with the possibility of contracts beyond $1.4 million a season at another club.

“If he is to leave the Giants, and I’m not saying that he will, he deserves the most money of any free agent moving clubs,” Dal Santo told SEN.

“If the records are correct on Dylan Shiel last year (potentially) going to the Saints for $1.3 or $1.4 million, he needs a couple of extra dollars.”

Roos said Coniglio was a precious commodity.

“I love him as a player, he’s a very, very, very good player,” said Roos.

“He showed again (on Sunday) how valuable he is and I’m rapt to see him play well. The Giants were terrific.”

Cameron said negotiations with Coniglio were “going good. Him and Josh Kelly are in a really good space.”

Coniglio destroyed the Dons in a best afield performance. Picture: AAP

However, Coniglio has refused to give much away other than to say he won’t let the ongoing speculation distract from his footy.

“To be honest my whole thing has just been playing footy. In terms of when I make my call, I don’t have an answer for you just yet,” he said.

“I’m just priming myself for another big season. We’ve fallen short in a couple of years so for me to get better individually and collectively as a team has been my stance on the whole thing and when the time is right I’ll make the call and make the right call.

“Josh went through it a couple of years ago (re-signing speculation). For me it’s just preparing to play well.

“I’m at that stage of my career now where I really want to cash in on two good seasons I’ve had in a row. I had a strong season last year and Josh is the same.

“We are in that sweet spot of our careers and just want to prepare for games. If there’s media and speculation that comes with it, I just want to keep playing footy well.”

Before winning the election NSW election, the Liberal government pledged to establish the Stephen Coniglio-Amanda Farrugia Community Program.

That community program — worth $400,000 over four seasons — will see Coniglio and GWS AFLW captain Farrugia working as mentors for young multicultural students.

The Giants believe it is another example of how invested Coniglio is in the area as they work on a contract that is expectedto hit $1 million a season.

Hawthorn and Carlton have strong interest in Coniglio and no decision is expected for several months.

GWS MAKE GIANT DECISION ON STADIUM NAME

Greater Western Sydney passed up naming rights sponsorship worth as much as $1.5 million a season to name their home ground GIANTS Stadium.

The Giants were able to secure those funds from a group of high net worth patrons for the next two seasons.

The club’s announcement that their ground in the Olympic precinct will be named after the club will grow brand awareness during AFL and Big Bash games.

The Giants were deep in negotiations with several corporations at a price between $1.2-$1.5 million a season.

But the Giants were keen to find a way to reap that revenue and promote their own brand at a ground previously known as Skoda and Spotless Stadium.

GWS dominated Essendon on Sunday, also drawing the biggest non-derby crowd at the stadium in a morale-boosting victory for a team that lost several stars to salary cap issues over the off-season.