GWS Rising Star nominee Joe Fonti has peeled back the curtain on the ferocious half-time spray that sparked the Giants’ stunning derby comeback against the Swans in Round 20.
Down by nearly five goals and struggling for any momentum at ENGIE Stadium, the Giants trudged into the rooms having managed just three goals in the first half. What awaited them was a brutally honest and physically expressive dressing down from head coach Adam Kingsley.
“I remember when we first got in, there was a chair that got kicked to the other side of the room,” Fonti told SEN Dwayne’s World. “The whiteboard marker was getting a bit of a workout as well, squeezing the ink out of the whiteboard marker.”
“It was intense – but it worked”
Kingsley’s fury wasn’t lost on the playing group, and Fonti said it lit the spark that turned the game on its head.
“It was fairly intense, but I think he’s just passionate. It was good coaching because we came out with a completely different mindset in the second half,” he said.
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“His spray was effective, so good coaching on his behalf. In saying that, it shouldn’t take him spraying us to click into gear.”
From that point, the Giants booted nine goals in the third quarter and conceded just one more for the rest of the match, storming to a 44-point win. With a crunch clash against the Bulldogs looming tonight, Kingsley’s temper might just be the last thing his players want to see again.