Club great's reality check for Port Adelaide

1 year ago 111

Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes has downplayed his beloved club's premiership chances this season, contempt a wildly palmy commercialized play past year.

The Power were lauded arsenic 1 of the winners of the commercialized play erstwhile they lured 2021 No.1 prime Jason Horne-Francis to the nine alongside 2018 premiership-winning goalsneak Junior Rioli, bolstering an already awesome list.

However, Cornes, who played successful the club's lone AFL premiership successful 2004, believes Port inactive lacks the prime of immoderate of the league's elite teams.

"I don't cognize if they've got the endowment level of immoderate of the different teams that we're talking astir that are successful premiership contention," helium told Wide World of Sports.

"They've got a truly pugnacious archetypal mates of games ... truthful they'd truly privation to commencement well, and the pre-season games were a small spot disappointing successful that respect.

"They're (premierships) hard to win, truthful I wouldn't accidental it's premiership oregon bust for anyone, and close present there's astir apt 9 teams who tin triumph it.

"Are they (Port) successful and amongst the champion 4 oregon 5 astatine this point? Probably not. They're astir apt determination betwixt six and 10, successful that range."

Hovering implicit the Power's play is the ongoing speculation surrounding caput manager Ken Hinkley's future, with the 56-year-old successful the last twelvemonth of his contract.

Hinkley has coached Port to 3 preliminary finals since joining the nine successful 2013, but determination person been calls from fans for the nine to crook the leafage connected his decade-long tenure pursuing a disappointing 2022 season. Some disgruntled fans adjacent posted a motion speechmaking "sack Hinkley" astatine the club's headquarters past year.

Cornes admitted helium was unsure however Hinkley's aboriginal would play out, but urged the nine to dainty him with respect.

"What I bash anticipation is that they amusement him the respect that helium deserves. He's been specified a beardown person of the footy nine and done a tremendous job," helium said.

"I'm definite (regardless of) immoderate happens they'll beryllium speaking regularly with (Port GM of football) Chris Davies and the committee and Ken volition cognize precisely wherever it sits. I don't deliberation there's going to beryllium immoderate surprises this year.

"Whether that's astatine the extremity of the year, halfway done oregon whether helium goes again, it's a spot hard to predict, but the unit is determination from the supporters to person a bully twelvemonth and sometimes that overwhelms the nine and forces them into decisions. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but we'll person to hold and see."

Cornes is nary alien to playing connected a squad wherever the coach's declaration was a large talking point, with Port premiership manager Mark Williams' aboriginal a akin talking constituent successful 2009, and explained the interaction it has connected the playing group.

"You conscionable get asked astir it a batch perpetually and it's benignant of successful your face," helium said.

"But Ken's beauteous bully connected staying successful the infinitesimal and doing the small things right. I'm not definite whether they would've discussed it arsenic a group, but erstwhile the shot is determination to beryllium won you're not reasoning astir the coach's contract.

"So during the week it tin beryllium a spot distracting, but connected crippled time it shouldn't person excessively overmuch of an impact."

Cornes volition propulsion connected the shot boots for the archetypal clip successful astir a decennary aft entering the 2023 Carlton Draft, wherever helium volition represent a section nine successful a one-off game.

Despite being an avid runner successful his post-playing days, the 300-game champion admitted his shot skills had gotten a small rusty.

"I really went and trained with my son's under-14s squad past nighttime to effort and get myself successful immoderate benignant of signifier to beryllium capable to play and it's beauteous ugly, truthful I've got immoderate enactment to do," helium said.

"They stitched maine up! It's astonishing however rapidly you suffer the athleticism that's required. I tally a batch but it's wholly antithetic to the dynamic quality of playing footy, but I'm excited.

Entries for the 2023 Carlton Draft crossed Victoria are present open. To nominate your nine caput to http://www.thecarltondraft.com.au. Entries adjacent March 27 with six fortunate clubs to beryllium announced successful aboriginal April.

"Grassroots footy is peculiar to a batch of radical and it's wherever it each starts and it's wherever it each started for me, truthful to get backmost successful and amongst the community, I deliberation it's a terrific concept.

"I saw the guys bash it past year and thought, 'Oh, I'd emotion to beryllium progressive successful this'. I was thankful that they wanted to person maine involved."

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