GIANTS coach Leon Cameron has praised his acting captain Stephen Coniglio after revealing the obstacles the star midfielder overcame to lead his team to victory in Saturday’s night Sydney Derby.
Coniglio dislocated a finger on his right hand and donned a glove after half-time to protect the problem.
It didn’t seem to slow down the 25-year-old, who kicked four goals and gathered 24 possessions for the night.
"Coniglio was really brave to play on, we don't know how bad it is," said Cameron.
"He's hard and he's tough and I thought he played his role really well.
"For him to hit the scoreboard and play good midfield time speaks volumes about who he is.
"If it's right (for next week) he'll push on but if it's not we'll see where that leads.”
Lachie Whitfield was another midfielder to play out the game despite a setback, with the running machine copping a corked thigh which left him unable to hit top speed throughout the second half.
Whitfield spent a large part of the game deep in the forward line, with his footy smarts and creativity making the Swans defenders pay the All Australian close attention.
Cameron said the way Whitfield fought on was no surprise to those that know him best at the GIANTS.
"For his build, Lachie is as hard as anyone at our footy club, and he cracks in probably too much at times, and he's really sore,” he said.
"But he was the first one to put his hand up to play on and he was hampered, but it allowed us to keep rotating our players.
"We'll give him every chance (to play next week), like we did with Davis (this week), but we'll assess that during the week."
With both Coniglio and Whitfield spending less time in the midfield against Sydney, Cameron said he was extremely impressed by the performances of emerging GIANTS Tim Taranto – who was awarded the Brett Kirk medal for best on ground – and Jacob Hopper.
Taranto and Hopper were outstanding around the footy and shared 63 possessions, 36 of those contested, 13 clearances and 13 tackles against the Swans.
"Tim clearly led the charge, I thought when Sydney had the ascendancy his last 10 minutes of the second quarter was first class from him," Cameron said.
"He defended well and won some crucial balls, and we could have gone in at half-time behind if he wasn't out there.
"It was a hard game and 'Hops' took a really big hit but picked himself up and kept on whacking away.
"It's pleasing you've got third and fourth-year midfielders that love the hunt and tight footy, and we were rapt with the game, but we're also rapt with how they're progressing."
The GIANTS are expected to know more about the availability of Whitfield, Coniglio and co-captain Phil Davis (who was a late withdrawal with an ankle injury) for the match against St Kilda in Canberra early in the week.
