Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has reaffirmed his desire for Kane Cornes to join the Lions’ pre-season training camp.
Cornes suggested earlier this month that Brisbane “could be the Melbourne of 2019” and slide down the ladder after an impressive season with a young group.
Despite the comments, Fagan said he welcomed the feedback of those external to the club.
“I always embrace different opinions. Rather than be upset by his comments, I’m interested in them,” he said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“We’ve got work to do to improve and I agree with Kane, our finish to the season wasn’t what we wanted it to be and we’ve got to learn from it and grow again.
“At some point in time I’d like to talk to him about it and see what he thinks we can do to avoid having that problem.”
Approaching his fourth season as head coach of the Lions, Fagan hopes his group can learn from Cornes just as they did from Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy last season.
“The offer is still there,” he said.
“We had Gerard Healy up here last year for three or four days. Gerard talked to our group, we picked his brain and we learnt a bit from him.
“We’re thrilled that we can do the same thing with you. You can learn a little bit about our group, and we can learn a bit about your thoughts on footy so I think it’s a win all round.”
Fagan revealed the camp will take place on the Apple Isle, much to the surprise of Cornes.
“The camp is down in sunny Hobart. We’re going to get out of the heat for some cooler weather,” said Fagan.
Cornes responded: “I thought it might be a nice trip up to Noosa but I’ll take Hobart.”
Brisbane won 16 matches in 2019 but failed to win their first final since 2009.
Listen to Fagan on SEN SA Breakfast below: