Kane Cornes has questioned North Melbourne forward Cam Zurhaar’s double standards, as he played down his previous fiery comments directed at former teammate, Port‘s Jason Horne-Francis.
Having left North Melbourne in a bombshell trade at the end of 2022 to join the Power, Horne-Francis was relentlessly targeted by Kangaroos fans on social media and was booed throughout the 2023 season.
On top of the abuse he copped from fans, his former teammate, Zurhaar, was quick to call out the young midfielder across a series of social media posts at the time of his trade home.
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Flashforward to 2024, Zurhaar has played down the severity of said comments and the impact it had on Horne-Francis at the time.
Zurhaar advertised a discount for tote bags he was selling that donned the words “Hornet” – Horne-Francis’ nickname, captioning the photo “Hornetgone”.
On top of that, he also commented a fire emoji on North Melbourne’s post confirming that the youngster had been officially traded out.
“It was friendly banter and it just got blown out of proportion like every single other story does,” he said on Triple M’s Footy Talk podcast.
“That’s just the reality of social media, you can’t really say anything now. Can’t have too much of a voice or someone will bring you down.”
Now, Cornes has highlighted that Zurhaar is in the exact same position that Horne-Francis was two seasons ago, as the 25-year-old weighs up his future with the Kangaroos.
“Isn’t he backing away from those comments pretty quickly,” Cornes said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Monday night.
Zurhaar has refused to sign a contract to extend his time in the blue and white, with speculation continuing to grow about what club he could land at in 2025.
His 2024 season has also been sub-par for the forward, with an average of just 12.7 disposals a game.
“I’m not sure a player has harmed their reputation more than him this year,” Cornes said of Zurhaar.
“The way that he carried on when Horne-Francis left. The fact that we’re nearly halfway through the season and he himself hasn’t committed to the footy club that he was so critical of his teammate for leaving.
“And then his performance. I’m just not sure he’s fit enough and fully committed to the North Melbourne footy club, when you witness the way that he’s playing at the moment.”
Cornes has issued a “big warning” to rival clubs who may be interested in his services, come the end of 2024.
“It will be a big warning for another club if you want to go after Cam Zurhaar and what you might get,” he said.
The Roos sit 18th on the ladder and are winless after 10 rounds.