GIANTS defender Phil Davis has laughed off – literally – the prospect of the player who replaced him as captain being dropped for Saturday's crunch match with Brisbane.
Stephen Coniglio's form has become a talking point this year, especially with the GIANTS' overall midfield not performing to last year's standard and the fact they sit 10th on the ladder.
They've slumped from the AFL's No.2 clearance team to 15th, although the drop is only from third to seventh in the more important statistic of scores from this source.
The GIANTS have also slipped from being ranked second for total disposals and contested possessions all the way to 10th in both categories.
Coniglio, who inked a seven-season deal last year before being elevated to the captaincy, is averaging nearly 20 possessions and five clearances in his six appearances this season.
"I never worry about Stephen. I have complete faith. He's the captain of the footy club for a reason and he's one of the best midfielders in the comp for a reason," Davis said.
"There's no doubt he always wants to play better but we all want to play better. I think that's just the way the game is – we're always chasing perfection and no one can quite grab that.
"I was surprised what I read last night when it came through (report on Fox Footy that the GIANTS were considering dropping Coniglio) but there's no doubt that he, along with the other 21 players who played at the weekend want to get a little bit better."
Davis fielded five questions on Coniglio, who he referred to as a "concrete in", and became frustrated by the last of them, in regards to whether the team would be deflated if the new captain was omitted.
"I think we're speculating a fair bit about how I'd feel and how the group would feel if that was to happen," he said.
"We're sitting here on a Tuesday and the captain of the club is not at the peak of his performances at the moment but he's still a very good player.
"I'm sure 17 other clubs would pick him within two seconds if he was available to be selected for them."
Davis watched some of reigning club champion Tim Taranto's return from a shoulder injury in a weekend scratch match against Hawthorn and tipped the gun onballer to earn a senior recall this week.
The GIANTS impressively defeated Collingwood and the Hawks in the fortnight before last week's disappointing loss to Port Adelaide, so the Lions clash presents another opportunity to prove their wares.
"We've had a great draw so far, then we've got Richmond the week after that," Davis said.
"If you look at our first eight weeks, we've played some pretty high-quality teams and that's exactly what you want.
"We've shown where we can get to but now we're really chasing that consistency that's eluded us, so this week is a really big test."
Davis hinted that resident tagger Matt de Boer may not necessarily go to Brownlow Medal favourite Lachie Neale.
