GWS co-captain Stephen Coniglio has given an insight into James Hird’s influence on the Giants, saying the former Bomber has a presence about him that few can match.
Hird joined GWS at the start of the season as the club’s leadership advisor, his first official role back in footy since stepping down as Essendon coach following the drugs scandal in 2015.
With Leon Cameron stepping down as coach last week, Hird’s name has been thrown into the spotlight as a potential contender to become the club’s third coach.
“There are certain people that you come across… watching guys like James Hird play in the AFL and then one day have them as your leadership coach or one of your assistant coaches, when he walks into a room there’s an aura about him,” Coniglio told SEN WA Breakfast.
“So far for our group and our leadership group in particular, who he's been working really closely with, just the ideas and energy that he has around our football club has been first class.
“You can just see straight away when he talks, not why he was such a good leader, but why he was such a good player and why he brought the best out of his teammates around him.”
Mark McVeigh was appointed as the Giants’ interim coach following Cameron stepping down from the club, and SEN Chief reporter Sam Edmund revealed earlier in the week he had called on former Gold Coast assistant Dean Solomon to join his team.
Hird has also accepted a role as a part-time assistant coach to bolster the coaching ranks in the post-Cameron era, and Essendon legend Tim Watson said during the week that Hird had ambitions to become a senior coach once again.
Coniglio didn’t comment on if he can see Hird as his coach in the future but was comfortable with how the club’s coaching ranks sit.
“He’s been really giving of his time this year and with him and Dean Solomon coming in they obviously know each other as well, so our coaching group is really tight and Mark will do a wonderful job no doubt,” Coniglio added.
McVeigh faces his first test as Giants coach when his side takes on West Coast at Giants Stadium on Sunday afternoon.