Leon Cameron’s cheeky text message to GWS Giants coach Mark McVeigh after Kangaroos demolition

GWS Giants coach Mark McVeigh has revealed the cheeky text message Leon Cameron sent him after Sunday’s crushing victory.

MELBOURNE. 12/06/2022.. AFL Round 13. North Melbourne vs GWS Giants at Marvel Stadium. GWS Interim coach Mark McVeigh . Photo by Michael Klein

GWS Giants coach Mark McVeigh has revealed the cheeky text message Leon Cameron sent him after Sunday’s crushing victory over North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.

The men in orange secured a comfortable 15.12 (102) to 7.11 (53) win over the Kangaroos to push themselves up to 13th on AFL ladder.

After Cameron resigned as Giants mentor last month, one of the first moves implemented by caretaker coach McVeigh was slotting key forward Harry Himmelberg into defence.

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And the decision quickly paid dividends, with the 26-year-old contributing 16 marks and 37 disposals in Sunday’s 49-point triumph.

Speaking on SEN’s Sportsday this week, McVeigh disclosed the lighthearted message Cameron sent him after the one-sided Round 13 clash.

“It’s funny, Leon actually text me and said, ‘How long have you been sitting on the Himmelberg one, you waited until I was out of there did ya?’,” he said.

“I was lucky, I coached Harry as a young kid, so I knew he’d played back, and I know that was a long time ago, but I knew he had the capabilities.

“We had sent him down there at training at times. When you could put a spare behind the ball at centre bounce back in the day he was definitely the one.

“I used to think, ‘Geez, how would he be as a centre half-back, he can kick it, he can defend’, so I really wanted to make that move quickly.

“We didn’t have a lot of ball movement in our back-half in terms of our kickers. We had one or two at times and we’ve now got about three or four and he’s part of that.

“We needed to boost that area and he’s been outstanding. It’s a credit to him. He’s embraced it. He didn’t flinch at it and he had a great game on the weekend.”

Harry Himmelberg of the Giants. Photo by Michael Klein

McVeigh has also been praised for reinventing Giants co-captain Stephen Coniglio as a midfielder.

The 28-year-old registered 34 disposals, three goals and 11 score involvements against North Melbourne, crediting his strong performance to having more freedom in the midfield.

“To be honest my body feels really good, but the mind is clear as well,” Coniglio told ABC Sport on Sunday.

“We’ve been playing with such an essence of freedom in the last three weeks, you know it’s suited me and I think a couple of other guys.”

McVeigh later said: “Positional change has helped him too. Deep down he felt like he could play in the midfield.

“For me, I‘d like to see our best players in their best positions. I thoroughly believe Cogs is a midfielder.”

The Giants will next face the Western Bulldogs at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday evening, with the first bounce scheduled for 7.25pm AEST.

Originally published as Leon Cameron’s cheeky text message to GWS Giants coach Mark McVeigh after Kangaroos demolition