Adam Kingsley completed a 15-year apprenticeship at Port Adelaide, St Kilda and Richmond to get his shot at the GIANTS, but in the space of four quarters on Sunday, the AFL's newest coach got to experience the madness of calling the shots inside a coaches box in the GIANTS' 16-point win over Adelaide at GIANTS Stadium.
The GIANTS recovered from 31 points down in the second quarter and a 28-point half-time deficit to kick 11 second-half goals in a win that rates among the very best home and away victories in the club's short history.
The first Sunday game of the 2023 season was played in temperatures that reached 36 degrees and stayed there for most of the game, coupled with humidity that left players cramping as early as the second quarter and several kilograms lighter by the final siren.
The GIANTS were also forced to overcome a shortage of rotations in the second half after Harry Perryman strained a hamstring in the opening quarter, before Lachie Whitfield and Josh Kelly suffered concussions and Jacob Wehr entered concussion protocols following a crude hit from Shane McAdam that will attract MRO scrutiny.
The GIANTS will head west without Perryman, Whitfield and Kelly to face West Coast next Sunday night, but first, Kingsley will sit back and enjoy his first Sunday night as a senior coach after banking four premiership points.
"What a great, courageous fight they showed. I'm incredibly proud of our guys and the fight they showed," Kingsley said in his press conference on Sunday night.
"To be down on the scoreboard, to be losing players – we had probably one on the bench for half an hour, two on the bench for virtually all the second half – you could tell, we were spent. So were they, to be fair. It was unbelievably hot conditions. Both teams showed great courage."
After being elevated from co-captain in 2022 to standalone skipper in 2023, Toby Greene showed why he is not only one of the best players in the AFL, but an inspired choice as captain.
The dual All-Australian got the better of Adelaide key defender Tom Doedee in an enthralling battle, kicking 4.4 from 19 disposals and eight marks in a match winning performance that helped drag the GIANTS across the line.
"I thought he was outstanding, particularly when the game was on the line," Kingsley said.
"I thought Cogs was unbelievable as well. They stood up. Just some of Toby's contest work in the front half, particularly in the second half and that last quarter was unbelievable."
While Greene hit the scoreboard, it was Coniglio who inflicted maximum damage around the ball.
Tom Green amassed a career-high 37 disposals and had a big say on the day, but Coniglio torched the Crows with 32 disposals, 14 score involvements, nine inside 50s and 810m gained in a performance Kingsley believes might propel the West Australian back towards the elite bracket of midfielders in the game.
"He might be leading the Brownlow after this game," he said.
"I thought his burst out of stoppage, his ability to chase and tackle was at a high level, his intent was really good and when his game was on the line you see the cream rise to the top. Every time he won the ball he was able to break tackle, spread forward and that’s him at his absolute best."
