Kane Cornes has launched a tirade at the Adelaide Football Club

Combative media personality Kane Cornes had an AFL battler squarely in his sights after a ‘pathetic’ gesture at the MCG.

Kane Cornes was at his ranting best on Sunday and this time his target was the Adelaide Football Club.

In a critical clash against Hawthorn on Saturday they had to win to realistically stay in finals contention, the Crows barely fired a shot, succumbing 16.11 (107) to 12.8 (80) at the MCG.

But it wasn’t so much the performance Cornes had an issue with, although that was part of it, the Port Adelaide 300-gamer couldn’t believe what the Crows did after the defeat.

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Hawks veteran Jack Gunston had just played his 250th game in the AFL, spanning stints with three clubs.

The 32-year-old started his career with Adelaide way back in 2010, spending just two seasons with the Crows before a hugely successful period with the Hawks, a season with the Lions and then returning to Hawthorn this year.

Still the Crows opted to line-up and cheer Gunston from the ground and Cornes, 41, was left flabbergasted.

James Sicily and Luke Breust chair Jack Gunston off the ground in front of the Crows. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

“For Adelaide, their worst performance of the season yesterday, it signalled the end of any chance of them playing finals this year,” he began on Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show.

“It was to be honest a pathetic performance. So what do you do after the game, after you put in a performance like that?

“Let’s line up for a guard of honour for a player who left the club after two years and went on to play in three premierships in a row at Hawthorn and cheer him off for game 250.”

Cornes then quickly expressed his opinion about the issue facing the Crows, who have finished 18th, 15th, 14th and 10th in coach Matthew Nicks’ four full seasons in charge and currently sit 14th in a year they were tipped to push for the finals.

“Adelaide to me, Matthew Nicks a really nice guy, but I think he’s too nice,” Cornes said.

“I think Jordan Dawson is a really lovely, nice guy. I mean if your daughter brought him home for dinner and he was her boyfriend, you’d be pretty happy I reckon.

“Same with Matthew Nicks. There’s a lot of niceness about the Adelaide Football Club.

“I could not believe, for game 250, which is a good milestone for Jack Gunston, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not guard-of-honour worthy.

Kane Cornes erupts on the Adelaide Crows.

“Your season is finished, you’ve lost your 10 in a row at the MCG, you’re not playing finals, and you line-up for a player who left after two seasons to go and win three flags at another club.

“It was unbelievable, I couldn’t believe it.”

Asked by panellist Tony Jones what he would have done in that situation, Cornes replied: “Got off the ground.

“It was a shocking performance, their most disappointing of the year, they’re not playing finals now, get off the ground and work out how you’re going to turn it around.

“If I’m Taylor Walker, if I’m Jordan Dawson, I’m going ‘why are we lining up for 250’?

“Two-fifty is not a milestone that we celebrate for another club.

“How do you reckon the Crows fans — so Gunston gets drafted to the club, he leaves after two years — Crows fans are at home going ‘that’s the performance we put in’.

“Now we’re lining up for a guy who left after two years and played in three flags at Hawthorn.

“I couldn’t believe it. Why are we so nice?”

Cornes felt the Crows should have just got off the ground, rather than honouring the Hawk. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Former Bulldogs and Richmond forward Nathan Brown said: “I agree with you on this one. I quite often disagree with you, but I agree with you on this one.”

A number of footy fans on social media, including some Crows supporters, were also in agreement with the outspoken Cornes.

“As an Adelaide supporter I was disgusted we did this,” one wrote on X.

“It is cringe. Embarrassing by Adelaide,” commented another.

“I have never agreed with Kane … until now. The 2018 pre-season affair was a disaster, now we have gone so far away from having any mongrel this rebuild is now our story and will go on forever.”

Of course there were some that took an opposing view as the South Australian club honoured a player that can boast an All Australian jumper, a Hawks best and fairest and three goalkicking titles along with those three premierships.

“Wow, Kane has some bad takes sometimes, but this would have to be one of the worst. It’s called showing respect for a great achievement. Who cares what team it is?” one wrote.

“Save your breath everyone. If being a decent human doesn’t make sense to someone, no point trying to explain it to him,” suggested another.

Originally published as Kane Cornes has launched a tirade at the Adelaide Football Club