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Sheezel responds to claims of Cornes' bullying
SEN • April 30th, 2025 3:54 pm
North Melbourne's Harry Sheezel has responded to claims Kane Cornes has been bullying him, insisting there is no bad blood but that perhaps the Fireball host's comments had overstepped the line.
This morning, Todd Viney unleashed on Cornes for his criticism of the club and it's staff in recent weeks with a particular focus on Sheezel, describing his actions as "inappropriate, targeted, vindictive, bullying behaviour".
Cornes has been critical of Sheezel's playing style in recent weeks, suggesting he was playing an easy style of football and was not in the same form he had shown in 2024.
Speaking on SEN's Dwayne's World in the aftermath of Viney's comments, Sheezel said Cornes was entitled to his opinion but admitted the criticism had impacted him.
"It’s been a big couple of days after what Kane said," Sheezel said.
"To be honest Kane is entitled to his opinion at the end of the day, it’s his role in the media. I can’t control that.
"Maybe it overstepped the boundary a bit.
"The club has supported me really well. End of the day I’m an AFL footballer and I’ve signed up for the scrutiny that comes with it.
"I wish it hadn't blown up into what it has but that’s the nature of it, I just hope I can get back to my football.
"Maybe (Cornes went) a little too far with some of the terms he used. Looking at what he was saying I do agree I could have more impact on games but I’m playing the role my coaches have assigned to me.
"On the stat-padding side, I don’t believe in that. I’m never going to be perfect at it, I do understand what he’s saying that I could be more damaging with the ball."
Given the intense focus on players, Sheezel was asked if the media in general were too harsh in their views on performance.
"It's a tough one but like I said, I'm fortunate to have support around me," Sheezel continued.
"When something bad is getting said about you not matter where it's from it does hit you in some way, it wasn't easy to hear that.
"With Kane's influence it did probably hit me more than it normally would but I've been able to bounce back from it with the support of family, friends and club.
"The media have every right to their opinion but at the end of the day we're all human beings. I hope now to just put it behind me. Let's focus on the win, that will help me move on.
"I've got no bad blood with Kane, he's entitled to his opinion - it's his role. I have nothing against him. I'm going to focus on what I can control and move on.
"the attention has gone overboard. I want to sweep it under the rug."
Sheezel and the Roos will be looking for their second win of the season when they take on Essendon at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
