GWS flop: Stephen Coniglio calm in face of Giants’ AFL problems
GWS Giants should be reaching for the AFL flag. Instead, they’re so far away they can barely see the pole.
Stephen Coniglio is quietly spoken. Impeccably polite. Understanding of the questions and predicament. When he bites his bottom lip and scratches his beard, they’re his only nervous twitches during a 15-minute discussion on why his GWS Giants are disappearing down the chute. The beard has no grey hairs. Yet.
He’s clearly a calm sort of bloke. Needs to be. The Giants are shakier than a Central Coast trophy house in a storm. He’s unlikely to throw a tanty or chair across the room. More pent-up individuals are sitting in meditative states under Nepalese trees.
He is calm and contemplative, talking about blessings and belief, and the hurt of failed expectations. What a year to become the skipper. High hopes falling flat. Calamitous scheduling caused by the plague. “Unfamiliar territory,” he says.
Mongrel and flair propelled the Giants to last year’s grand final and they’re meant to be reaching for the flag right about now, but they’re so far away they can barely see the pole. Three wins, four defeats, the captain under pressure, the coach under the pump.
If they lose Friday night’s grand final rematch against Richmond, they may as well pucker up and kiss the playoffs goodbye.
Already.
The AFL premiership normally runs longer than a Melbourne Cup, rewarding the stayers, but this year it’s more of an Everest.
Great vice-captains don’t necessarily make great captains. It’s too early for the verdict on Coniglio. Asked what he could have done differently as skipper to date, he says: “Maybe (spend) more time in conversations. Use guys around me a little bit more. A lot of the time I’ll take on things and not be afraid to ask for help but at times, I shy away from that and want to try to do a lot on my own. I think, for me, just sharing the load a little bit more, giving guys a little bit more to do — that’s probably one thing I can definitely learn from this experience.”
He says of learning captaincy on the job: “To be honest, I’ve loved stepping up. I always knew it was going to have challenges, particularly with what’s going on in the world and the football industry. It’s territory that no one has been in before, be it as a captain or a GM or a coach or a president.
“I’m very comfortable in where we’re going while acknowledging in my own self, and as a team, that where we are at the moment is not the level we want to be at. We need to change that. I have belief in myself and my teammates and coaches … We’ve been in these situations too often in the last few years but we’ll stick tight and get through this. No doubt.”
By fixing what? Our contested ball, he says. Our ball movement. Our defence, lacking its traditional grunt.
“It’s usually our one-wood,” he says. “It’s things you don’t lose overnight or over the course of the season. It’s in-built in us, in the way we have been taught to play. It’s just about finding ways to start that back up again. Completing the Giants game we’ve been accustomed to. Everyone is motivated and working as hard as they can to flip it around. Quickly.”
The grand final rematch is a replay of a match that was not much of a match The Giants were humiliated by 89 points on debut in the big dance. Another heavy loss, or any loss at all, doesn’t bare contemplating for the dire consequences.
“I have belief in my own ability,” Coniglio says. “Belief in the team’s ability around me. Belief in Leon’s (Cameron) ability as a coach, and the coaching panel next to him, to turn this season around for us, and get us back to winning ways, and featuring in finals again.
“The belief is through the roof. We want to get back more than anyone. What’s hurting us at the moment is that we’re not living up to expectations.”
Former Giant Brett Deledio reckons the team plays like 22 individuals rather than a collective when things go pear-shaped. Says Coniglio: “He’s entitled to his opinion and, from the outside, he’s probably not the only one who shares that view. I think that collective approach and playing for one another is something we pride ourselves on. Our playing group loves playing for each other. We get along really well.
“There’s other elements in our game that I think are costing us more than playing as individuals. In our first four or five years, you could definitely make a few examples of more individuality than a collective approach, but we’ve made some huge ground on that and, at the moment, I don’t see it at all.”
Giants versus Tigers. Now or never. They’re one win out of the eight. One loss from second last. Coniglio scratches his beard, bites his bottom lip and says: “Pressure for me, at the minute, with what’s going on in the world, people are struggling to hold down a job or pay rent or support their kids, that’s pressure to me.
“As a footballer … do I feel the pressure and listen to the external noise? Of course it’s hard not to hear it.”
More Coverage
Full rankings: AFL Draft’s top 60 prospects rated and scouted
The 2024 AFL Draft is just over a month away, and to get you ready for the arrival of footy’s next generation, our draft experts CHRIS CAVANAGH and DAN BATTEN rank every prospect.
Festival of Lies: Clubs ‘treating public for fools’ in trade spotlight
It’s the time of year for list managers and recruiters to shine, but the trade period has become a festival of lies. SCOTT GULLAN writes, the days of getting away with such gibberish are gone.