Giants players catch eyes with pre-game act before Hawthorn loss
Two GWS stars got reactions from their teammates after a pre-game act that did not go unnoticed before their team’s loss to Hawthorn.
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Giants stars Stephen Coniglio and Harry Himmelberg have caught attention with a pre-game smooch before their loss to Hawthorn on Saturday night.
The former GWS captain and former Fremantle star appeared to have the kiss choreographed with Fox Footy cameras showing that the pair sought each other out following the team’s final huddle before the first bounce in Launceston.
With a cheeky grin on his face, Himmelberg walked forwards as Coniglio leaned in for a kiss.
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The interesting pre-game psyche-up was clearly enjoyed by their teammates with players walking away from the huddle with beaming grins and shakes of their heads.
Coniglio and Himmelberg capped off their special moment with a warm hug before taking their positions before the first siren sounded.
It also caught the attention of fan on X.
Footy fans are very used to seeing teammates enjoy some affectionate moments with Collingwood players particularly seen sharing kisses in recent years.
Saturday’s kiss clearly didn’t have an impact on how the Giants hit the ground running in Tasmania with GWS booting the first five goals of the game while kicking with a strong breeze at their backs.
However, Hawthorn has battled back from 35 points down to keep their winning streak rolling.
Star Hawks defender Tom Barrass said the Giants had given his team “a good pantsing” in the first quarter before they recovered to win 10.16 (76) to 9.10 (64).
In front of a big crowd for Launceston’s first night game since 2018, the Hawks handled the blustery conditions better to improve to 4-0 as the Giants suffered their first defeat of the year.
An eight minute, six-goal blitz to end the first half was scintillating, but the Hawks contest work and pressure in the third quarter, where they booted four goals to two against the breeze, was even more impressive.
The Giants were on top for most of the first half, with their pressure enormous as they kicked five unanswered first quarter goals with the wind.
But after struggling to find an avenue to goal with the win for much of the second term,
GWS locked down the Hawks well for much of the second term.
But after Josh Weddle was awarded a mark which appeared to hit the ground before he had complete control, the Hawks strung together goals to grab the ascendancy.
Hawthorn made the necessary adjustments in the third term, and handled the challenge of kicking into the wind far better. They were able to rush the Giants into errors through their midfield pressure, and stop the run and carry game their rivals enjoyed in the first quarter.
It took nine minutes into the third quarter for the first goal to be kicked into the breeze, when Hawk Jack Gunston marked in the goal square and made no mistake, and the Hawks managed three more to take control.
The Giants managed just four goals after quarter time to slip to 2-1 for the season.
Small forward Nick Watson was influential for the Hawks.
“We knew it was going to be like that, the boys fought hard and it was a tough start,” Watson told Fox Footy.
“(The third quarter) was an adjustment, we knew us forwards needed to start moving and we were a bit slack in the first quarter.”
Much of the story line around Hawthorn before the season began was whether they could handle the target on their backs after their incredible resurgence in the back half of 2024.
They’ve passed every test so far with flying colours, and now have a 4-0 launch pad after they lost their first five games last year.
They now enjoy a fortnight’s break before they take on Port Adelaide in a Gather Round blockbuster at Adelaide Oval.
— with NewsWire
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