Chad Cornes opens up on the 2002 Ramsgate hotel brawl on Fox Footy’s Open Mike

CHAD Cornes has opened up on what led to the wild Ramsgate hotel brawl in 2002 on an upcoming episode of Open Mike.

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CHAD Cornes has opened up on what led to the wild Ramsgate hotel brawl between Port Adelaide and Adelaide players in 2002 on an upcoming episode of Open Mike.

Just hours after the two had played off in a tense Showdown clash over a decade ago, players of both sides came to blows outside the hotel following a night of drinking.

Josh Carr and Mark Ricciuto were at the centre of the incident, which Cornes believes started as “a bit of fun” involving Kane Johnson and Carr.

“It didn’t take much,” Cornes says. “It started with Josh Carr and Kane Johnson and then Ricciuto stepped in and it was on.

“(Carr and Johnson) were actually mates, because they played together at Glenelg, so it was a bit of fun. But Ricciuto read a bit more into it and it was on outside.”

Cornes reveals he was involved in the spat, but only for a split second before he was warned by Ricciuto.

“I was involved … I was trying to undo Ricciuto’s headlock that he had on Josh Carr and he said ‘stay out of it Cornes’,” he says.

“If it happened these days, it would be the biggest story in the world.

“We were getting along quite well for the first few hours, but the more drinks we had the more words got spoken and it spilt outside.”

THE CORNES’ OPEN MIKE WILL AIR ON FOX FOOTY ON MONDAY AT 9.30PM

Originally published as Chad Cornes opens up on the 2002 Ramsgate hotel brawl on Fox Footy’s Open Mike