Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes has urged those at the club to “harden up” after suggestions that figures at the Power were not pleased with his honest analysis.
Cornes was scathing in his criticism of his beloved side after they were crushed by 71 points in a home preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs, suggesting that some underperforming players were “buried at the Adelaide Oval”.
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He was not the only ex-Port star to lash the club, with premiership captain Warren Tredrea also questioning coach Ken Hinkley’s preparation in the aftermath.
However, according to The Age’s AFL reporter Caroline Wilson, figures at Port Adelaide were not too pleased with both Cornes and Tredrea’s comments.
“I think there’s a view at Port Adelaide … that you two of all people, given your time at the club when the club challenged to win flags and took a few years to get there and lost finals they should’ve won, you of all people should’ve understood it,” Wilson said on Nine’s Footy Classified.
Cornes did not back away from his criticism of the club’s performance, and called on Hinkley to “harden up” if he had been hurt by the comments made in the wake of the loss.
“Me showing some clips of some Port Adelaide players shirking contests in the first quarter of a final that was set up to win should not affect Ken Hinkley,” he told Footy Classified.
“Now if it does, Ken, I’m not sure is sensitive to these comments, I think he’s got to harden up a little bit.
“No one has said more nice things about Ken Hinkley in the last nine years than myself.
“I’ve been incredibly supportive, as he was to me, I’ll never forget how they treated me on the way out.”
Cornes was also asked about whether comparisons between the current Port team to the one he played in during the early 2000s, where the team earned a reputation of finals “chokers” before the 2004 premiership, was valid.
“For me, I won a premiership when I was 21,” he said.
“It took me three years to win a premiership at that club, so it certainly didn’t feel like a long time. I’d played in two grand finals by the time I was 24, so it didn’t feel like nine years, which is what Ken Hinkley [has coached] going into his tenth year.
“I feel for the supporters who booked their tickets and spent thousands of dollars to come over, everything set up for them.
“Now, if the club is sensitive about some commentary from two former players who have a job to do, I thought it was quite balanced, then I think they need to harden up a little bit.”
Tredrea echoed Cornes’ comments on the show, tweeting: “Hear Hear. [Port Adelaide] need to harden up, own your poor performance, learn from it and move on.”
Cornes was also backed up by Essendon great Matthew Lloyd, who delivered some brutal home truths to the Port Adelaide brass.
“They’ve got more things to worry about than two former players and what they’ve had to say,” he told Footy Classified.
“Kane is spot on. They need to harden up. They are far too sensitive. They were an embarrassment.
“They lost by 71 points and played shell-shocked footy, give us the answers of what went wrong. I want to hear that rather than anything Kane’s had to say.
“Tell us actually what happened. What went wrong in your preparation? Why couldn’t your players handle the heat of a prelim when they had everything going for them?
“That’s where they should be putting all their focus.”