Greater Western Sydney name Josh Kelly, Toby Greene and Stephen Coniglio as 2022 co-captains

One of Toby Greene’s teammates has revealed why the controversial Giant was a “no-brainer” to be named co-captain despite his history of indiscretions.

The overwhelming want within the Giants for Toby Greene to be captain paved the way for his official leadership role and his on-field indiscretions to be forgiven.

The decision means Stephen Coniglio’s run as standalone captain ends after two turbulent seasons and he will instead share the co-captaincy with Greene and dual club champion Josh Kelly.

Coniglio’s elevation to skipper in late 2019 came on the back of consistently strong individual performance and after a season in which he shunned free agency to commit for seven more years.

But the soon-to-be 28-year-old was dumped from the senior side ahead of a must-win match last year and is yet to prove he can return to his best amid more injury misfortune.

Greene and Kelly thrived as stand-in captains in Coniglio’s absence this past season, with repeated calls for the former to replace him permanently before his latest run-in with the match review panel.

Greene’s moment of madness, when he bumped into umpire Matt Stevic during the three-quarter time break of the elimination final win over Sydney, eventually cost him a six-match ban.

He had to sit out the semi-final loss to Geelong and won’t play again until Round 6 next season.

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Toby Greene’s suspension for bumping into umpire Matt Stevic means he will miss the first five rounds of next season. Picture: Supplied

A “disappointed” Coniglio condemned Greene’s actions at the time but he remained positive about Greene’s overall contributions to the club.

That appears to be the overriding feeling across the Giants organisation in regards to Greene, a flawed football genius.

“I think ultimately your captain, or captains, should be what the group wants. To go from having two (Phil Davis and Callan Ward) to one and now three, it’s great flexibility for the group,” Coniglio said.

“The fact that (Greene’s) one of our three co-captains speaks a lot about what the playing group and staff think of him.

“He’s been here the same time as me and no-one wants to win more than him.”

The hope is sharing the load may unburden Coniglio and enable him to thrive again as a footballer, while Greene’s admission he needed to learn from the Stevic incident will coincide with greater responsibility.

“(My leadership) is something I’ve probably worked behind the scenes a fair bit on and something that definitely didn’t come naturally,” Greene said.

Toby Greene is a much-loved player at the Giants.

“I’m looking forward to it – doing it with Josh and ‘Cogs’ – and it’s going to be a great experience.

“Obviously, I’ve got a bit to work on and I’m well aware of that, and so is everyone else. It’s just something I’ll continue to work on moving forward.”

Greene declined to divulge what that learning process would look like, saying only: “I’ll let you know when I get through it.”

All three men, including the well-spoken Kelly, described the co-captaincy as an “honour” but Greene was, as almost always, the main topic of conversation.

“(This decision) speaks volumes of what we think of Toby. Time and time again, he reflects really well in our player and staff vote,” Kelly said.

“The care he has for the club, for his teammates and for the people involved is pretty special.

“It’s a bit of a no-brainer for us. On game day, you walk out alongside him and know he’s going to do all he can.”

GIANTS ANNOUNCE BAD BOY GREENE AS CO-CAPTAIN

Sam Landsberger

Toby Greene’s teammates have told Greater Western Sydney they are “disappointed” by his on-field discipline – but that same feedback has helped complete Greene’s resurrection from bad boy to co-captain.

The Giants on Friday, unveiled three co-captains – just as they did in their inaugural AFL season in 2012 – with Greene and Josh Kelly promoted to partner Stephen Coniglio after an exhaustive fact-finding mission.

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A corporate world-style questionnaire was recently distributed to about 50 players and staff members, delivering club powerbrokers a wealth of raw and honest information that has triggered the leadership makeover.

Football boss Jason McCartney told News Corp that Greene’s brilliant captaincy when Coniglio was injured this year outweighed the frustration from his six-match ban for touching an umpire in the elimination final.

GWS has named a trio of co-captains for 2022 in Toby Greene, Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“You take everything into consideration, and that was a real black spot or dark moment for Toby and put us in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons,” McCartney said.

“But the other element you weigh up is his leadership throughout the year. When Stephen was injured he led exceptionally well and he married up really well throughout the survey in key components.

“There’s no doubt within that too there’s teammates that are disappointed in the actions, but they really support him as a person.”

Greene will finally be free to make his return against St Kilda in round 6 next year.

The Giants named Phil Davis, Callan Ward and Luke Power as a trifecta of co-captains in 2012 and Davis and Ward held their positions until the end of 2019.

Coniglio then took the reins, but his two seasons as sole skipper didn’t go to plan as form and injuries pushed him out of the team.

But the classy midfielder set a personal-best at Monday’s 2km time trial and McCartney said Coniglio’s behind-the-scenes leadership, particularly with younger players, was underrated by the football world.

Stephen Coniglio has had a big pre-season as he strives to bounce back from a down year.

The Giants’ sports psychologist designed a survey last year to help craft the club’s leadership structure, which was beefed up significantly for this year’s in-depth digital document.

“It’s not a vote as such, it’s a questionnaire around key components of leadership,” McCartney said.

“We just wanted to add that layer of analysis to keep building our program and make sure we keep getting the right people in the right positions.

“And then it’s like anything – when you get so much information it’s the analysis component. We probably spent a couple of weeks in the analysis phase of all the data we got.

“We feel like it’s a good template because it provides a lot of good feedback too.

“It’s no good having a great survey and then not doing anything with the information.”

Defender Nick Haynes has been elevated into the leadership group as the Giants look to the on-field organisation by Steven May and Jake Lever that helped power Melbourne’s premiership.

But McCartney said the key takeout was “overwhelming” support for multiple skippers.

“Our staff and players felt at this point in time we needed to go with a co-captaincy model,” he said.

“The three boys constantly spat out were Stephen, Toby and Josh.”

Originally published as Greater Western Sydney name Josh Kelly, Toby Greene and Stephen Coniglio as 2022 co-captains