Coniglio opts for "full-on" footy

Stephen Coniglio, right, has a hit with fellow GWS Giants players Tom Scully and Callan Ward and Sydney Thunder's Cameron Borgas. Picture: Phil Hillyard. Source: The Daily Telegraph

STEPHEN Coniglio's decision to choose AFL over cricket has been a massive win for the GWS Giants.

Coniglio was one of the few bright lights for a heavily undermanned Giants team that went down to Essendon by 91 points on Friday night.

"It was a tough choice," Coniglio said.

"With footy, you can play straight away. If I had a cricket career, it would take a lot longer to reach the highest level."

Coniglio, 19, is widely regarded as one of the best young cricketers to come out of Western Australia.

He scored 106 not out in the national under-15 championship final against Victoria, which still stands as the best score by a West Australian in the tournament.

At 16, he played first grade for Midland-Guildford, the same district club which produced Test players Simon Katich, Tom Moody and spinner Bruce Yardley.

Coniglio played under-15s and under-17s for WA before nominating for the 2011 AFL national draft, which effectively ended his cricket career.

"Footy suited my personality," Coniglio said.

"The way footy is going, it's very full-on and cricket is a little more laid back. I liked the physical aspect of footy as well.

"I wish it could be different, it would be great to play two sports that you love."

The No. 2 choice at the 2011 draft had another big decision to make not long into his first year in the AFL, should he stay with the Giants or leave.

Coniglio knew plenty of his teammates would be looking closely at his choice as they considered their future.

"Toby Greene and I are pretty good mates and we had a chat about re-signing," Coniglio said.

"When Jezz (Jeremy Cameron), Toby (Greene) and myself re-signed, we wanted to send a message to the boys that we're in this."

Coniglio's decision to stay in western Sydney, along with that of Cameron and Greene, appears to have had the effect they were looking for with seven more talented youngsters committing to the Giants last month.

They included No. 1 draft pick Jonathon Patton and quality youngsters Dom Tyson and Will Hoskin-Elliott.

Coniglio is looking for some better luck with injuries.

A broken thumb was followed by a stress fracture in his lower back last year, restricting him to 12 games.

Giants fans had a taste of his prodigious talent in the club's first-ever win, in the round 7 clash against the Gold Coast Suns last year.

The 19-year-old picked up 31 possessions and a nomination for the Rising star award. And he will be looking to build on that as he gets some consistent football in his legs.

GWS were a long way off top form against the Bombers, but they were without star forwards Patton and Cameron as well as the highly rated Jonathon Giles, Stephen Gilham, Devon Smith and Will Hoskin-Elliott.

"It was a good wake-up call," Coniglio said.

"We had some good players out, so we're not worried too much."

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