Kane Cornes has shared his seven observations from the second round of the 2023 AFL season.
The Port Adelaide great dissected Round 2’s nine games on SEN’s Sportsday, see his thoughts below.
Hawthorn will struggle, but won’t go winless in 2023
“Someone in the media this week is going to say Hawthorn won’t win a game this year,” Cornes began.
“The media person that tips in to Hawthorn not winning a game this year, they will be wrong.
“They’re not going to win many, but they won’t go through winless this year.
“My concern is the damage (the rebuild) does to their good players.”
Brad Scott is putting players in the right roles
“I’m not falling in love with Essendon, but I think Brad Scott had a great week,” Cornes said.
“A couple examples of what he did, (Andy) McGrath went back – that’s a no-brainer, he’s not a wingman, he’s not an on-baller and he’s certainly not a half forward – he played a terrific game.
“Coaching believing in what players can do, the same thing applies to Dylan Shiel, he was back on ball, he’s not a high half forward.
“He’s an inside midfielder, and the guy can play, 27 (disposals), nine ground ball gets, seven clearances, four tackles and two goals, that’s the Dylan Shiel they recruited.
“The decision not to play (Jake) Stringer, that was a great decision, he was fit to play but, ‘No, you’re not ready’, I’d make him earn it.
“He had a terrific week as coach.”
The Showdown’s losing coach is in for a tough week
“The losing coach in Saturday night’s Showdown is in for a really tough week,” Cornes said.
“I’ve got more faith in Adelaide, I’ve got more faith in their game style, effort and ferocity to get the footy back.
“Port Adelaide’s got the talent and the upside, Adelaide’s upside isn’t as big, but they’re going to bring the effort.”
John Noble is the best value for money player in the AFL
“I reckon he’s a $300,000 player. I reckon he’s worth $500,000,” Cornes said.
“He’s in ripping form.”
Will Hayward isn’t getting talked about enough
“He’s a South Australian, both kids should have picked him in the draft, I think they had the opportunity to do so but they didn’t,” Cornes said.
“If I’m those clubs, Port or the Crows, I’m calling his manager this week and I’m putting a massive offer to him.
“Some of the stuff he’s doing, he’s elite defensively … he’s great in the air, he’s really good at ground level.
“He’s part of this Sydney core of young players that play well, he’s being overlooked for whatever reason but we need to start talking about him more.
“He is a very, very good footballer.”
Never underestimate the power of a good pre-season
“Even the best players and future hall of famers like Tom Hawkins can’t get away without doing one,” Cornes said.
“He looks awful, he’s got a corkie in the calf (and is coming off foot surgery).”
Is anyone ever going to stand up for Gold Coast?
“I’m looking at the players here,” Cornes said.
“Scores were dead level at three quarter time (against Essendon) and I thought, ‘This is perfect, who is going to make a name for themselves, do a Joel Selwood, do a Luke Hodge and will their team over the line?’.
“Here are the numbers in the last quarter, lose the ground balls by five, clearances by four, tackles by nine – allow 20 entries and 11 scores in the last quarter, against a team you thought you were better than coming into the season.
“Touk Miller is a tick, I thought Matt Rowell, that was one of the better games I’ve seen him play in a long time.
“Apart from that, who was willing to dig in? I didn’t see many Gold Coast players.”
There are a couple of veterans in trouble
“I’ve mentioned my concerns about Trent Cotchin, I won’t mention him here, but Dyson Heppell and Rory Sloane are in a bit of trouble,” Cornes said.
Has anyone ever seen Nick Daicos go to ground?
“This morning I sort of said to Bucks, (Nathan Buckley) that I’ve seen vision of Leigh Matthews and he’s the closest thing that I’ve seen in terms of he’s got the big backside, smaller torso and the low centre of gravity,” Cornes said.
“I’m not comparing him to say he’ll be Leigh Matthews – he’s a different kind of player – but the similarities between the way they move and hold their feet, it’s uncanny.”