Kane Cornes has revealed further details regarding Xavier Duursma’s decision to request a trade from Port Adelaide.
The 23-year-old on Monday asked for a move to Essendon, with Cornes saying his exit meeting at the club led to the call.
Duursma wants greater midfield opportunities, with Port Adelaide telling him they don’t see him as an on-baller given their depth at the position and his role on the wing.
“What led to his exit was his exit meeting at Port Adelaide where, and there’s a good relationship between Duursma and Port Adelaide, but he sat down and said, ‘Look, I’m after more midfield time, do you see me as a viable midfield option going forward at this club?’,” Cornes told AFL Trade Radio.
“And look, they were pretty honest with him and said, ‘We don’t see you breaking into the midfield. We’ve got Willem Drew and Connor Rozee and Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis and Ollie Wines is in there and we don’t think you’ll get in front of that group. Your best option here is to play on the wing’.
“I don’t think he was that happy with that and they said, ‘Look, if you want to explore some more opportunities through the midfield it’s probably best if you do that at another club’, and that was the catalyst for him exploring his options and speaking to other clubs.
“He’s gone to the Bombers and clearly that is for more midfield opportunities and more security and to get back home and all those types of things and maybe team up with his brother.”
Cornes isn’t sure whether Duursma is an on-baller, feeling he is better suited to the wing.
“His ball use has been poor recently and he can be a bit fumbly in tight and can make some ball handling errors,” he said.
“He’s got some attributes that perfectly suit the wing. His running power is extreme, he’s good in the air, he’s courageous, he’s defensively sound.
“I don’t know if he’s physical enough and sure-of-hand enough to go and play inside mid.”
Brad Johnson wonders whether Duursma will be able to play a high percentage of on-ball time at Essendon.
“Well. Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish are the first two they go to. It becomes a rotation potentially after that. Duursma will have to play minutes on the wing,” Johnson said.
“For me, that’s his sweet spot as a position and he could become one of the best wingmen in the competition if he dedicated himself to that role and we know how important they are these days.
“For Duursma to become a midfielder he probably has to play as a high half-forward and play as part of that rotation and does he have the ability to do that effectively?
“If he’s playing midfield minutes at the Bombers, it wouldn’t be more than 25 per cent on-ball and around the contest.
“The rest is he’d be on the outside, but maybe that’s more than he’d get at Port Adelaide.”