GIANTS star Stephen Coniglio is not only back to his very best, he’s eclipsed it - and he’s got the numbers to prove it.
The line-breaking onballer continued his resurgence as one of the AFL’s prime movers on Saturday afternoon, earning maximum coaches votes in the GIANTS’ 12-point win over Hawthorn.
Had the ball on a string 🪄 #BigBigSound pic.twitter.com/Rayhhrkz7g
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) July 9, 2023
The best-on-ground display added to what is shaping as the best year of the vice-captain’s 193-game career as he posts career-highs almost across the board.
After form and injury issues plagued his 2020 and 2021 seasons, ‘Cogs’ has backed up last year’s runner-up finish in the Kevin Sheedy Medal by taking his game to another level in 2023.
Coniglio has not only returned to his form prior to his injuries, he’s gone to new heights, registering career-high averages in disposals (28.9), clearances (5.6) inside 50s (4.8), score involvements (7.5), and metres gained (433.1m).
He’s also third in the competition for total score involvements (121) and ranked ‘elite’ amongst the AFL in kicks (16.2), and above average in handballs (12.8), clearances (5.6), and tackles (4.7).
Cogs is putting up career-best numbers to help the @GWSGIANTS finals push 🌟 pic.twitter.com/Mfusr22hW6
— AFL (@AFL) July 10, 2023
Following Saturday’s starring role in yet another GIANTS win - their fifth in six games - AFL media personality Kane Cornes acknowledged Coniglio had proven many doubters wrong in 2023.
“I’m thrilled for this guy,” Cornes said on the AFL’s The Round So Far.
“I thought his career was at the crossroads and it really was,” he said.
“He was dropped when he was the captain of the club some years ago under Leon Cameron and he was really struggling. He was pushed out of the midfield and they were trying to make him a half forward. So, to actually hang in there and to keep working at your game, at his age, with the challenges he’s been through, to present form like this, I think it’s a great story.”
Coniglio credits a strong off-season, as well as new coach Adam Kingsley, as pivotal to his sizzling 2023 form.
“For me, the 2021 off-season was so important for me,” he told SEN Crunch Time.
“A - to get my body back into shape where I can compete again and play good footy again. But B - to reflect and kind of set last year up and then obviously this year. I’m very blessed that my body is in a manner at the moment that I can perform.
“Basically, I’m in an environment that Adam Kingsley has created since he’s come in that allows me and guys like Toby [Greene] and Josh [Kelly] to flourish.”
Quick to turn his attention to the team’s red-hot form, ‘Cogs’ was not shying away from his goal to return to September action for the first time since 2021.
“I’m a player that has been around for 12 years now and guys like Toby [Greene] and myself, and Josh Kelly, we aren’t going to be shy in saying we are desperate to get back to finals football and that’s obviously why we are playing," he said.
“I think we have the right mix at the moment to do that and I think you’re starting to see that in our play. Although at the start of the year we did start a bit slow, I think we’ve been in the majority of games bar the Collingwood one so there is genuine belief and that’s [finals] definitely our goal.
“It feels like at the moment each week we play we are growing more in confidence.
“It’s starting to feel like when we did play finals a couple of years ago.”
The GIANTS will look to continue their finals push in an exciting clash with the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
With both sides deadlocked on eight wins apiece and half a game outside the top eight, the winner of Saturday’s clash could find themselves inside the top eight at the conclusion of round 18.
