‘Petulant child’: AFL world turns on Power star Jason Horne-Francis

Port Adelaide star Jason Horne-Francis has come under heavy fire from footy fans with one act catching the eye of footy fans.

Port Adelaide’s Jason Horne-Francis has come under fire after a lacklustre display on Thursday night.

The Power were overrun in the fourth quarter as Essendon kicked four goals to one to claim the 9.18 (72) to 8.12 (60) victory.

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A host of key Port Adelaide players were well below their best throughout the contest, but none attracted the spotlight like Horne-Francis.

The 21-year-old started in the middle of the ground but failed to put his fingerprints on the contest for the majority of the night.

While the Power went into the halftime break holding the slender three-point advantage, questions were raised over the 2021 number one draft pick.

Horne-Francis ended the first half with only eight disposals to his name, seven of which were handballs.

Kane Cornes, normally Horne-Francis’ most vocal backer, was at a loss for how poorly the young gun was playing.

The Power star was called out over his display. Picture: Michael Klein

“I’m worried, I’m worried about him,” Cornes said on Channel 7’s half time show.

“I don’t think he’s playing with intensity, I don’t think he’s covering the ground well. Physically I’m not sure because he doesn’t look right to me.

“Just one kick in a half of footy. They wanted to get him going so they said ‘you know what we started you forward last week, we’ll start you on ball’.

“He’s had a couple of moments and he wins enough contested footy, but I want him kicking the footy I want him kicking it forward of centre and I want him impacting the score.”

Nick Riewoldt added: “He looks quick to give the ball off in those contested situations.

“When he wins that ball, take it on. Use your legs, that’s one of the great aspects of his game is when he actually tucks it under the arm and then goes at the game.

“I think he’s just conceding a little bit too much in terms of just disposing of the footy.”

Things didn’t get much better after halftime with Horne-Francis costing himself a shot at goal with a fumble.

He then did the unthinkable when he dropped an uncontested mark when he was wide open inside 50. Frustrated with himself he inexplicably gave away a free kick only moments later.

“I’ve never seen a player so short on confidence. For a gun of the competition to drop an uncontested mark inside forward 50 and essentially drop his head,” Cornes said.

“And it’s not good enough. That’s just letting your team down.”

Jason Horne-Francis ducked his head and dropped what should have been a simple mark. Credit: Fox Footy.

The dropped mark summed up his game. Credit: Fox Footy.

Cornes wasn’t alone in questioning Horne-Francis’ output with footy fans turning on the Power star.

One fan wrote on X: “Horne-Francis is a dead-set average footballer.”

A second added: “Horne-Francis needs to learn how to be a professional footballer. He plays like a petulant child. So bloody frustrating to watch.”

A third wrote: “Horne-Francis is just a terrible footballer. Sloppy hands, lazy, can’t defend, doesn’t kick. Genuinely been a huge negative for Port so far this season.”

Horne-Francis failed to make an impact. Picture: Michael Klein

Despite the knives coming out for him, Horne-Francis showed off his absurd talents with a classy fourth quarter goal.

The Power star attacked a contest at full speed with the ball bouncing up in the middle of two Bombers players.

But in the blink of an eye, Horne-Francis stuck his right arm out and plucked the ball away as he ran into open space and slotted the team’s only goal for the quarter.

“That was phenomenal!” Dwayne Russell said on SEN.

He ultimately ended the contest with 22 disposals to his name, but it wasn’t enough as the Power fell to 1-2 on the season with heavy pressure mounting on the club and coach Ken Hinkley.

Originally published as ‘Petulant child’: AFL world turns on Power star Jason Horne-Francis