Stephen Coniglio reveals reason for delay in GWS contract decision
GWS star Stephen Coniglio has spoken candidly about the big offers he received from Carlton and Hawthorn, and why he kept everyone waiting for an answer.
GWS
Don't miss out on the headlines from GWS. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Stephen Coniglio says he had so many good options for his next contract it was hard to decide which was the right path.
As contract talks stretched deep into the season, hopes lifted at Carlton and Hawthorn that they could prise the star onballer out of GWS.
But Coniglio says that hope may have been misplaced, although he admits he was tempted by the possibility of switching clubs.
“The longer it went on it wasn’t that I was more likely to leave, I just hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do yet,” he said on teammate Dylan Buckley’s Dyl and Friends podcast.
“I had options, that’s what I kept reminding myself. I’m not a kid in Africa here that doesn’t have food or someone that doesn’t actually have a club for next year, I’ve got some really good clubs interested, some big clubs, (and) I like it where I am, so it’s just about figuring out the right answer or the one that felt best for me.
“When people ask, ‘Why did it take so long?’ it’s because I didn’t have that answer at times, I think throughtout the year I was questioning myself and what I wanted to do ... I’ve been in Sydney for eight years now so do I want to go to Melbourne or Perth and try something different and be closer to my family or start a new network, live in a new city — not just footy but life in general.
“Because I didn’t have a clear answer that was the hardest thing.”
Coniglio eventually turned down the interstate offers on the eve of the finals, signing a monster seven-year deal with the Giants.
He said he expected more players to go through similar dilemmas as player movement becomes more accepted.
MORE TRADE NEWS:
North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein shuns Geelong interest to re-sign for three years
Essendon forward Joe Daniher considering move to Sydney Swans
Richmond forward Shai Bolton resists home move as Tigers re-sign key pair
After signing his deal, he described receiving a phone call from Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson as “like cheating on your girlfriend”.
“I don’t have a girlfriend so I don’t know what it would be like to do that,” he laughed on the podcast, “but that’s what I referenced, you try to do it in a way so that the club doesn’t know but ultimately in the AFL everyone finds out.
“It’s just where AFL is getting to and you look at a lot of sports around the world, with NBA and soccer being the most notable in terms of players moving around having conversations with clubs, but I was glad that I actually did that and was able to make a decision on the back of that.”