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What Cornes has said about North in 2025
SEN • April 30th, 2025 5:46 pm
Kane Cornes has been accused of bullying behaviours by North Melbourne for remarks he has made about players, coach and club.
We look back at some of his comments this season:
ON JY SIMPKIN
Cornes directed scathing words at Jy Simpkin in the wake of the Kangaroos’ loss to Port Adelaide
“It’s not as if they’re having free rein and letting him (Horne-Francis) do whatever he wants, like the North Melbourne captain Jy Simpkin.
“The way that he carried on on the weekend for a player that’s won 16 games in six years…
“I’m led to believe that he was extremely vocal and mouthing off to the likes that you wouldn’t see from a very, very poor football team.
“He was on the lip all day. This is a captain who can’t even play in his own midfield, playing half-forward.
“I’m just reporting what I’ve heard. He was extremely vocal.
“And just repeating, he’s won 16 games in six years and I’d just be shutting my mouth and trying to turn this footy club around before I start mouthing off and throwing my weight around.”
DEBATE ON SHEEZEL
Cornes said North were allowing their young star to play an easy style of football
Healy: “I wanted to ask you about Sheezel because last year he was in the All-Australian squad. He was winning the ball magnificently and distributing it magnificently.
“But this year, if you're doing a list of blokes who haven't fired a shot, he's on the list.”
Cornes: “Yep… he’s getting it no worries, but what he’s doing with the football, he’s stat padding. There's no other way to put that.
“People will say, ‘Well, Harry Sheezel is the least of North's problems’, and I sort of agree.”
Healy: “I think they're missing his distribution off the half-back line.”
Healy: “I think they're missing his distribution off the half-back line.”
Cornes: “But I think they are allowing him to play an easy brand of football, and he's not the only one.
“They need to be demanding a lot more of him in terms of where he's winning the football and how many times he's handballing versus kicking.
“He had nine kicks on the weekend from 32 disposals and 13 of those touches were absolute junk in dead time during the last quarter, which didn't matter.
“He’s playing an easy brand of football at the moment and he’s not challenging himself.
“I'd much rather 22 touches, eight score involvements and a goal from him, which he can easily do, versus the 33 (disposal) junk stat-padding rubbish that he's getting right now.”
ON CLARKO’S COACHING
Cornes took aim at North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson after their 36-point loss to Adelaide
“It's hard to believe a four-time premiership coach could have such a nightmare in the box,” he said on Fireball.
“It was a tactical disaster. North Melbourne is too good for this level of performance, and Clarko should be coaching for his career over the next six weeks.”
“It’s hard to know how scathing to be of North, but I think the performance of Alastair Clarkson in the coach’s box needs to be addressed in some way,” Cornes said on the AFL Nation call.
“Not scouting Taylor Walker in the ruck which cost them two goals, the (Ben) Keays and (Charlie) Comben matchup had nightmare written all over it from the first minute of the game.
“I thought they gave Izak Rankine just far too much space. I thought the (Aidan) Corr and (Riley) Thilthorpe matchup needed to be changed pretty early and Comben needed to be rolled over.
“I didn’t think they were able to get (Harry) Sheezel involved in the game at all, and I just reckon North Melbourne is past performances like this, to concede 114 again - how many times have they conceded over 100 under Alastair Clarkson - I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say the pressure is rising, and I think it should be.”
ON LUKE DAVIES UNIACKE
Cornes and Luke Hodge agreed North have spent too much on trying to secure the signature of Luke Davies-Uniacke.
“He’s reached his potential.
“For what he is now, he’s what he’s going to be.
“Once you’ve reached that, he’s not going to take another level to go.
“This is Dustin Martin money for a player who has nowhere near reached Dustin Martin levels.”
ON JACK DARLING
__Cornes took aim at Darling and Clarko following their 114-78 loss to Adelaid__e
“They had no viable second ruck option, they had Jack Darling doing the second ruck work… it was a tactical disaster.
“Pick another tall, not Darling… I wouldn’t play Darling. You can’t play Darling.”
