Toby Greene cleared for dangerous kick towards Dane Rampe

Stephen Coniglio has backed in Toby Greene’s leadership despite him landing in yet more hot water for an off-field indiscretion, this one well off the ball.

Giants vice-captain Stephen Coniglio believes emotions got the better of teammate Toby Greene during the Sydney Derby, but still backed his skipper to play an important role in their 2025 premiership push.

Greene was handed a one-match suspension for striking Sydney’s Isaac Heeney during an incident in the first quarter. On Monday night, footage also emerged of Greene attempting to kick Swans defender Dane Rampe, with the AFL reviewing the incident and not laying any charge.

While Greene’s behaviour has been the subject of many headlines throughout his career, over the past two years as the Giants’ captain, he has been fairly well behaved.

But Coniglio conceded that the importance that was placed on ending the side’s losing streak against the Swans more than likely contributed to Greene’s hot-headedness during the first quarter.

Greene’s run-in with Isaac Heeney was one of several moments where the Giants captain was heated throughout the Sydney Derby. Picture: Brett Costello

“We hadn’t beaten them in a long time, it was a big build-up to last week and his emotions probably got the better of him,” Coniglio said. “But it was a hot affair early in the game and the weekend.

“With the AFL in general, anything above the neck, we need to stamp it out. So, he was disappointed, and it’s going to be disappointing not having him for this game.

“I think whenever he’s walked the line, he’s made some really good decisions in the last couple of years, and it’s fuelled a couple of our really good performances. So, we just need more of those decisions.”

Greene admitted on his Ausmerican Aces podcast on Monday that he regrets the incident and has been guilty of similar “slip-ups” throughout the year. While he also conceded that he has to learn more ways to deal with his emotions.

Greene was all smiles at training on Tuesday as he prepares for a week off as his teammates take on the Bulldogs. Picture: Brett Costello

Coniglio has had the best view of Greene’s evolution from one of the AFL’s most underfire stars to club captain. His actions last Friday suggest he’s still walking that fine line, but Coniglio knows Greene’s leadership is critical to the Giants’ long-term success.

“It’s not like he’s a captain that gets out the front and rants and raves, but it’s implementing things throughout the week that build up to a strong performance on the weekend,” Coniglio said.

“He’s obviously one of our best players and we want him out there as much as possible, but he’s come a long way as a leader of this football club and no one’s more disappointed probably than him to miss this week.

“I don’t think it’ll matter too much what happened last week. I think the turning point for Toby was when the players were saying, ‘You are a leader’. That was probably five years ago … once he had the belief that the players wanted him to take strides forward, he really took his leadership to a new level.

“He’s well aware, and we’re getting him back next week, so he’ll be fine.”

The Giants are confident that the good outweighs the bad when it comes to Greene’s leadership. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

In Greene’s absence, Coniglio is set to captain the Giants for their crucial match against the Bulldogs on Thursday night, with Josh Kelly also set to miss the next month with a calf injury.

The 31-year-old has battled his own injury dramas to get back into the team, but returned to his best with 19 disposals and five clearances against the Swans.

Coniglio knows he has an important role to play in the midfield, providing guidance and support to the likes of emerging superstars Finn Callaghan and Tom Green. But with his body feeling as fresh as it’s ever been at this time of the year, he’s also ready to make a difference in the Giants’ finals charge.

Coniglio is slowly returning to his best form after nearly four months on the sidelines. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“You look at Tom and his stoppage stuff and then Finn and his goal on the weekend, there’s not too many players who can do that around the competition,” Coniglio said. “I am at an age now where you want to help them out as much as possible, but it’s also nice to watch at times.

“Kingers always instilled belief and confidence in me to get my body right first and foremost. Don’t come back too early, and I’ve done that. I had the face last year and the shoulder, so the rest of my body feels great, not having that impact for three or four months.

“I want to be playing my best footy come September, and so does the rest of the team. My job is to figure out now, as a leader, how I can help my teammates do that and how I can make sure I’m doing the same.”

AFL CLEARS GREENE OVER DIRTY GROIN KICK

— Chris Cavanagh

The AFL has cleared GWS captain Toby Greene for a dirty and dangerous kick towards an opponent’s groin on Friday night, despite acknowledging that it was “a horrible look” for the game.

Behind-the-goals vision emerged on Monday night showing Greene kicking back his right foot into Sydney defender Dane Rampe’s groin region as the ball was bounced to start the game.

The action led to outrage among commentators and former players, who suggested the AFL should come down hard on Greene for the “intentional” and “dangerous” action.

Greene has already been suspended for this week. Picture: Matt King/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Essendon great Matthew Lloyd said the action “must be looked at by the AFL”, while Brisbane champion Jonathon Brown said the action was “more dangerous” than the forearm to Isaac Heeney’s head which already saw Greene receive a one-match suspension from the game.

Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon said “that is not what our game wants”, adding “if he got a week, I don’t think there’d be too many people upset”.

However, new AFL football boss Greg Swann said on Tuesday morning that the incident had been looked at and cleared by Match Review Officer Michael Christian.

“It has been (looked at). Chrisso did have a look at it,” Swann said on SEN radio.

“We won’t be taking any action on it, only on the basis that he actually doesn’t connect. Whether we think that we want in the game is a separate thing, which obviously we don’t.

“At the moment, the MRO can only, from a penalty perspective, go upwards, it can’t come down. So it’s sort of zero or three. And there’s some of these incidents that should get a one or a two. So you understand that you put the table together to provide consistency, but there’s always outliers in footy and sometimes they don’t fit in those boxes.

“So we’ll have a look at some of those things.

“It was a weird action for sure, but if you look at Rampe, he misses him really, because he doesn’t react and they just play on. So that’s been looked at.”

Greene was already suspended for one match out of the game after putting a forearm into the back of the head of Sydney’s Isaac Heeney as the Swans star lay on the ground.

That ban took Greene’s career suspension tally to 16 matches and 30 sanctions.

Greene will miss Thursday night’s crunch clash with the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium as the Giants search to lock in a finals spot.

Originally published as Toby Greene cleared for dangerous kick towards Dane Rampe