GREATER Western Sydney and the Canterbury Bulldogs have created an unlikely, informal partnership this season to help provide each other with an edge in the AFL and NRL respectively.
The two Sydney-based organisations have opened their doors to each other – during the week and on game day – allowing football department staff from coaches to analysts to high performance personnel to observe and contribute to the program when possible.
New Giants coach Adam Kingsley has formed a relationship with Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo and quickly created a bond between the two clubs since arriving in New South Wales in September.
Like Kingsley, Ciraldo is in his first season as a full-time coach – he was caretaker coach for six games at Penrith at the end of 2018 – and looking to learn from others in elite environments, both locally and internationally.
The former Cronulla Sharks, Newcastle Knights and Penrith Panthers back-rower is highly regarded in NRL circles for his new-age approach to coaching, an attitude the old guard has struggled to embrace.
Kingsley and most of his coaching panel have spent time out at Belmore and he even recently sat in the box during a game to observe how Ciraldo and his coaching staff manage the most important 80 minutes of their week.
"Cameron Ciraldo is a very, very good coach. Our philosophy is aligned around how a club should look like, what activities you should do, how you should play. It feels like he is a similar coach to me or I'm a similar coach to him. We are on the same page with our thinking and prepared to challenge each other's ideas," Kingsley told AFL.com.au on Wednesday.
"I feel like the Giants and the Bulldogs are really similar in terms of the stage of our list, past results, the programs feel really similar in terms of what we're trying to do and the culture we're trying to create.
"They'll sit in meetings of ours and I talk to him about everything we're doing and him the same. We have open access to their games or trainings or meetings to see what they do. They are a terrific coaching staff and very inclusive. I think it's been beneficial for both.
"I think it's a reflection of both organisations. The AFL know we can learn stuff from the NRL and vice versa. We spend time together trying to put all our thoughts together to provide the best product for the players and for our supporters."
Greater Western Sydney opened its doors to coaches and analysts from the Penrith Panthers, Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers during the pre-season, too, but now work closely with Canterbury after building the connection over recent months.
Kingsley is regarded as a student of coaching and has spent many off-seasons travelling through America and Europe to complete personal development.
The 47-year-old has been inside NFL franchises Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars, NBA clubs Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers, plus WWE, Tottenham Hotspur and Scottish Rugby Union, along with Apple and Google.
The first-year coach didn't get the chance to head overseas last off-season due to the appointment, but is hoping to visit the Boston Celtics and San Francisco 49ers in October.
"It is something that I want my coaches to be doing each and every season, whether it's going away somewhere and being immersed in an environment and learning or whether it's online or whether it's local like New Zealand," he said.
"I want to encourage them to go and do it because I'll certainly go and do it myself and if we can all come back with two or three ideas to make the place better both on-field and off-field we'll be well placed."
Kingsley was spotted alongside assistant coach Brett Montgomery watching Greater Western Sydney's Super Netball team train at Ken Rosewall Arena last month.
The former Port Adelaide teammates weren't there to provide support, they were there to learn from veteran head coach Julie Fitzgerald AM, absorbing teaching and communication from the master coach who is in her 25th year in the national league.
Fitzgerald messages Kingsley after every game and they have remained in touch with the potential to do more in the future.
The coaching panel at GWS looks vastly different to this time last year, with Craig Jennings and Shane Mumford the only two remaining faces. Ben Hart, Jeremy Laidler and Montgomery all joined ahead of the pre-season, while Jason Davenport arrived at the start of the year.
Jennings is understood to be one coach who has spent plenty of time with the Canterbury Bulldogs, making the most of landing another opportunity in the AFL after stints at Essendon, the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne, before initially joining the Giants on a part-time basis at the end of 2021 and landing a gig for 2022 and then a spot as part of Kingsley's panel for 2023.
In the highly competitive western Sydney sporting market, GWS has found an unlikely ally in the form of the (other) Bulldogs.
