Kane Cornes steps down as All-Australian selector to continue with Sportsbet; James Sicily to play for Hawthorn against Fremantle Dockers in round nine
Updated ,first published
Your daily football news package in today’s AFL Briefing:
- Football media star Kane Cornes says it is important for him to continue his relationship with Sportsbet.
- James Sicily will return for the Hawks this tour and Will Day is almost back to full training.
Leading football media figure Kane Cornes has no regrets about giving up his role as AFL All-Australian selector to pursue his commercial deal with sports betting giant Sportsbet.
The day after it was revealed that Sportsbet had split with one of its employees, experienced AFL on-field umpire Nick Foot, 300-cap and former premiership player Cornes said it was important for him to maintain his dealings with the betting company.
Sportsbet confirmed that it would no longer feature any sports administrators or officials on its platforms “to ensure a clear departure from their official roles”.
Cornes, Seven commentator and former columnist AgeHe said he valued his position on the all-Australian selection panel but that Sportsbet “has been a great partner in everything I do”.
“Thankfully, Sportsbet is a great partner in every program I participate in. [of] – fireball on the radio [SEN]The AFL show I do on afl.com,” Cornes said. Agenda SettersHe appears here as a regular panelist.
“Obviously they’re a big part of everything we do and everything I do. And I want to support them.”
“And I completely understand their point of view.”
Cornes said he could see there was a clear conflict of interest in working for both a betting agency and the AFL.
“Now that they had taken this stance and changed their policies, there was no option left but to take the necessary action. [I] he did,” Cornes said.
“I spoke to the AFL. They were incredibly supportive. I thanked them for the opportunity. It was great.”
“I loved being all over Australia [selection] room.”
Cornes was also on the judging panel for the AFL’s Rising Star award.
Sportsbet said it was continuing to review its “talent regulations”.
“We are currently reviewing all of Sportsbet’s talent deals and have engaged with Kane Cornes, who serves as an All-Australian selector and Rising Stars judge, throughout this process,” a spokesman said.
“Appreciating and understanding the importance of the stance we have taken, Kane has made the difficult decision to step down from these roles within the AFL.
“We understand that this is an important decision for Kane to make, and we are grateful for his support of our decision.”
Sportsbet had confirmed that Foot, the grand final referee who reported Port Adelaide star Zak Butters for using abusive or insulting language towards the referee during Port Adelaide’s Gather Round match against St Kilda at Adelaide Oval, was no longer on its books.
Foot was working as a horse racing analyst for the bookmaker.
“Nick appeared on our show To get on A Sportsbet spokesman said it was “race coverage in a race capacity only”.
“We thank Nick for his work and wish him success in his refereeing career.”
The referee told 7News that he is “a proud individual of horse racing and officiating and continues to have a passion for both.”
“It is a privilege to play a small role in the AFL and I look forward to continuing to serve the game with professionalism in my role for years to come,” he said.
The AFL has added former standout players Luke Hodge, David Mundy and Joel Selwood to its All-Australian panel this year, while Nathan Buckley, Matthew Pavlich and Josh Mahoney have also left the panel.
Hodge, who has a relationship with a different betting company, TAB, was asked about the potential for a conflict of interest.
“I really haven’t had time to think about it,” he said Agenda Setters.
“This is an assumption [question] “This was not directed at me.”
Sicily will journey west as Hawks shake off the feeling of ‘nothingness’
Hawthorn vice-captain James Sicily will feature in Thursday night’s blockbuster match against Fremantle, while star midfielder Will Day is almost back in full training with a view to making a mid-season comeback.
The Sicilian suffered an ankle injury in last Thursday’s draw with Collingwood at the MCG and switched from defense to attack to help finish the game.
He trained on Tuesday when coach Sam Mitchell confirmed he would be traveling west for “a big test that we feel we are ready for”.
“He’ll be fine. He’ll play,” Mitchell said.
Hawthorn have won just one of their last eight games against Fremantle and have not beaten the Dockers in Perth since 2018.
Day, arguably the Hawks’ best player, needed shoulder reconstruction after suffering an injury in January. He had recently restarted contact training with a view to returning to the VFL next month.
Mitchell announced that Day has effectively returned to full training.
“But it’s probably still three to four weeks old. [away]he said.
Striker Mabior Chol (hamstring) is a fortnight away from the restart, but former Glenelg product Bodie Ryan, a versatile defender, will make his debut.
Thursday’s match at Optus Stadium is shaping up to be the game of the round, as it pits second (Dockers) against third (Hawks) in the standings in what could be a harbinger for September.
The Dockers have won seven straight and their only defeat this season came against Geelong in round one.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good quota. We’re in decent form. Obviously, they’re the fit team in the competition. [winnning] seven of them jumped,” Mitchell said.
“I went and watched their games last week. They said they probably didn’t play their best, but we still got the job done.”
Mitchell said dynamic reliever Josh Weddle’s confidence in front of goal has taken a hit, but he is confident that will change. Weddle started this season with a time of 4.11.
“He’s had a lot of shots on goal this year. He just hasn’t managed to get them quite right… but ‘Weddings’ is a good shot. So when you’re technically sound, it’s something that will get better sooner or later,” Mitchell said.
Opponents are increasingly trying to avoid long kicks to their own forward lines in an attempt to deny the aerial skills of Sicily and fellow defenders Tom Barrass and Josh Battle.
The Magpies even negated Steele Sidebottom’s ability to counter-attack by having him play as a defensive forward in Sicily in the first half of last week.
Dockers will have the option to roll back their systems or change their methods, Mitchell said.
“We know our stopping defenders are one of our strengths and weapons, and if teams want to give them a long shot then we back them,” Mitchell said.
“But if they don’t, it doesn’t mean we can’t win.”
Mitchell said there was a feeling of “nothingness” after last Thursday’s draw, with the Hawks finishing with a wasteful 13.15 (93) while the influential Magpies finished with 15.3 (93); The draw was confirmed after Dylan Moore’s goal after the siren.
The Hawks had 34 more points inside the 50s; This was the largest top-50 home-field advantage by any team without a win since 2022.
“We need to work a little more on our front-half method, but we came first or second.” [for] Points per entry, goals per entry would be a little better,” Mitchell said.
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Jon Pierik is a sports reporter for The Age. He covers the AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect with: X or email.
