He previously played for Swan Districts in League and Development Squad in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). In the 2010 WAFL Grand Final, he gathered 17 possessions and kicked four goals to be considered one of the best on the ground.[2][3] Only Geoff Hendriks has won a WAFL premiership at a younger age. Coniglio won the 2011 WAFL Rising Star Award, with a prize of $2000.[4]
At the age of 16, Coniglio represented Western Australia at the 2010 National Under 18 Championships. Stephen represented Western Australia at the 2010 and 2011 National Under 18 Championships.
2011 saw Stephen captain WA and win the Larke Medal as the best player in the competition. As well as being named Western Australia's most valuable player, and was selected on a wing in the Under-18 All-Australian team.
Stephen Coniglio grew up in Perth and as a teenager had to choose between pursuing a career in cricket or football. Choosing football has worked out well for him so far, with the popular teammate becoming one of the most highly rated midfielders in the AFL. In early December, 2019 Coniglio was appointed captain. Off-field, Coniglio is a part-owner of Macelleria restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne and has a keen interest in fashion.[5][6]
Growing up, Coniglio excelled at both cricket and football. He played grade cricket for Midland-Guildford in the WACA district cricket competition.[9] In five First Grade matches he made 111 runs at an average of 22.20 and took five wickets at an average of 42.00, including 3/35 on his debut.[10]
Coniglio played both under-15 and under-17 cricket for Western Australia.[7] He made 106 not out in the final of the 2009 National Under-15 Championships, the highest score by a Western Australian ever recorded at the tournament.[11] In the 2010–11 Australian Under-17 Championships, he made 146 runs at an average 24.33,[12] with a best of 78 not out against Victoria.[13]
Coniglio also played junior football for Upper Swan Junior Football Club, falling into Swan Districts' WAFL recruitment zone.[14] He made his senior debut for Swan Districts against Perth in round 22, 2010, at Steel Blue Oval, gathering 26 possessions and kicking two goals.
Senior career
In September 2011, Coniglio confirmed he would nominate for the 2011 national draft, ending speculation about which sport he would choose to play professionally.[15] Considered likely to be selected by Greater Western Sydney with one of the first five picks in the draft,[16][17][18][19] Coniglio was selected by Greater Western Sydney with pick two in the draft.
He made his senior debut for the club in round one of the 2012 season, recording 17 disposals in a 63-point loss to Sydney.[20] In round seven, after a 31-possession game in Greater Western Sydney's inaugural win over Gold Coast, Coniglio was nominated for the 2012 AFL Rising Star.[21] Midway through the season, he injured his thumb, and missed four games after undergoing surgery.[22] In total, he played 12 games for Greater Western Sydney in his debut season, spending parts of the latter half of the season with the club's reserves team in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL).[23]
The end of the 2019 season saw Coniglio qualifying as a free agent. Despite many rumours that he would leave and join a Victorian-based club, Coniglio had rejected massive offers from Carlton and Hawthorn and had re-signed with the Giants for a further seven years.[24] At the end of 2019, Coniglio was awarded the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award for his part in the development of the Coniglio–Farrugia Community Program in partnership with the New South Wales Government, as well as ambassador roles with the Fairfield Falcons Football Club, All Nations Cup, Diversity Talent and Bachar Houli programs and the Lighthouse Community Support program.[citation needed]
In the media
Coniglio features in the 2021 fly-on-the-wall documentary TV series Making Their Mark, which showed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several AFL clubs, players, and staff.[25][26]Nic Naitanui and Eddie Betts were filmed almost continuously, with other players featured including Coniglio and Rory Sloane, along with several coaches and other staff associated with the clubs.[27]
^The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
