GWS Giants release music video to educate commentators on how to pronounce Stephen Coniglio’s name

GWS star Stephen Coniglio is out of contract at season’s end and the Giants are doing all they can to keep him, including releasing a funny music video to help educate commentators on how to pronounce his surname.

Stephen Coniglio is out of contract at season’s end.

The Giants’ determination to retain Stephen Coniglio is literally music to the star midfielder’s ears and it could provide the club with a little Wiggle room in contract negotiations.

Coniglio has been labelled the ‘popular heartbeat’ of the team ahead of Sunday’s Round 1 clash with Essendon and the club are doing everything in their power to persuade him to stay — even serenading him with a catchy video tribute which is guaranteed to get stuck in your head.

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To the beat of Phil Collins’ 80s hit Sussudio, the Giants’ digital media manager Craig Abercrombie — who also works as a professional musician — has written and performed ‘It’s Coniglio’ — a song which implores pundits and fans to pronounce the player’s surname correctly (Co-kneel-io).

Abercrombie worked with popular children’s entertainers The Wiggles in a previous role writing and recording several of their albums and his latest efforts are clearly hitting the right notes with Giants fans.

We apologise in advance for getting this song stuck in your head.
(p.s. It's Co-kneel-e-o)#SorryNotSorry pic.twitter.com/CUrjDpaLZ9

— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) March 18, 2019

It’s proving a hit with more than 40,000 views chalked up on social media platforms — much to the amusement of the player himself.

“I obviously had no idea the media team were planning it but I definitely found it very humorous and I’ve had countless messages from people apologising for mispronouncing it for many years,” Coniglio told The Daily Telegraph.

Even his teammates have succeeded in winding him up about the mispronunciation over the years.

WATCH THE ‘IT’S CONIGLIO’ VIDEO IN THE TWEET ABOVE

A Giants clip from a trip to Canberra back in August 2014 even has skipper Phil Davis deliberately mangling Coniglio’s surname with tongue firmly in cheek.

Whether the musical tribute proves decisive in persuading him to pen a fresh deal remains to be seen but if he is distracted by all the talk of rival clubs queuing up to prise him away, then he’s not showing it.

The 25-year-old’s pre-season efforts have been hailed by club staff and he was handed the captaincy for the Giants’ recent pre-season clash with the Crows in Canberra and he led by example.

Stephen Coniglio is out of contract at season’s end.

Despite no signature on a fresh deal at this stage and numerous other suitors circling — Fremantle, Carlton and Hawthorn among those linked with a move for Coniglio — the Giants remain relaxed about the situation as the new season dawns.

“All players train hard but he’s been the standout of a group that pride themselves on training really hard,” Wayne Campbell, the Giants’ general manager of football told The Daily Telegraph.

“That doesn’t guarantee you that you go out there and get 35 touches and defend the way he defends but he’s certainly taking his training form into playing. He is growing as a player and a leader and we’re really happy to have him.

“He’s incredibly invested and vice-captain of our club. Look, at any one stage you are going to have about a third of your list that are out of contract. We understand he’s a high profile one but we’re really relaxed with the situation and hope he continues to play the way he’s playing.

“He plays a really well rounded game. He’s a really popular heartbeat of the team because of the way he goes about it. He’s a popular teammate because he’s such a low-key guy who wants to get better. He’s really invested in helping others as well.”

Originally published as GWS Giants release music video to educate commentators on how to pronounce Stephen Coniglio’s name