Time On: Matthew Richardson calls out Kane Cornes over Tim Taranto’s All Australian snub

Matthew Richardson has called out selector Kane Cornes’ “ridiculous” criticism of Tim Taranto, after the Richmond midfielder missed out on the All Australian squad.

Matthew Richardson has highlighted Kane Cornes’ ‘ridiculous’ views on Tim Taranto.

Time On is your daily wrap-up of all the footy gossip and banter.

Footy champion and Channel 7 commentator Matthew Richardson has called out All-Australian selector Kane Cornes over his “ridiculous” views of Tim Taranto.

Taranto was considered unlucky not to make the AA squad on Monday, after having a standout first year at Richmond.

In a controversial outburst earlier this season, Cornes said Taranto wasn’t among the top 150 players in the competition, a statement that drew criticism from former Richmond coach Damien Hardwick.

On Monday night, Richardson tweeted in response to Cornes’ harsh assessment:

Definitely an issue this. When so openly critical of a player to the point of being ridiculous. https://t.co/AvuYbREwPj

— Matthew Richardson (@mattricho0) August 28, 2023

He added: “At Rd 19 Tim Taranto would have been extremely close to being in the AA team. To not be in the 44 … 4 weeks later is very very stiff.

“Only Gulden kicked more goals as a pure mid.”

When probed by Craig Hutchison about the situation on Footy Classified, Cornes said he was just a small voice on a panel that selects the team, to be unveiled Wednesday night.

“I can understand that and I think there’s always good players and unlucky players that miss out every year,’’ Cornes said.

Tim Taranto has enjoyed an excellent first season for Richmond. Picture: Getty

“What you try and do is get a cross section of the different types of positions. The criticism often is you pick a team just on midfielders all the time. He was close, he had a really strong season.

“I’m a very small voice on a panel of strong willed people. If you think I’ve got that much influence over the All-Australian squad, you’re kidding yourself.”

Cornes reheats Mad Monday rant

Meanwhile, Cornes labelled the trend of teams dressing up for Mad Monday after not making finals as “embarrassing”.

He said fans of those sides should be outraged.

“Will you be disappointed if you see these players dressing up like idiots on Mad Monday, celebrating a season that doesn’t need to be celebrated?” he said on SEN.

“I’m all for having a quiet beer, Mad Monday, do that, catch up and debrief. But the trend of dressing up like an idiot after you’ve achieved nothing is embarrassing. Honestly it’s not book week at primary school.

“How do the Essendon fans feel? And I’m not suggesting they will dress up. I’m sure they’re smart enough not to be seen in public dressing up like Where’s Wally.”

First gay AFL player a ‘non issue’: Carey

Wayne Carey says no one would care if a gay AFL player came out.

The Kangaroos legend cited his experience playing with former teammate, Danielle Laidley, and there was never talk about her private life.

“We have had a former player known as Dean who is now Danielle Laidley — back in the 90s as captain of that footy club, I knew that Dean at the time was I guess considered living a different lifestyle to what others were,’’ Carey said on The Truth Hurts podcast.

“It was never an issue, we never brought it up with him, never spoke to him about it, didn’t care. Dean came onto that ground and when he played, was unbelievably courageous, fantastic footballer, so what he did off the ground was no one else’s business and it was never discussed. I don’t know how many other players knew.

“You’ve got someone who’s dealt with something they’ve hidden and the burden of hiding that for the majority of their life and then clearly gone through some troubles and to be able to now feel the way she does, it’s an unbelievable story. I just don’t see the big deal about it.

“As we know the AFLW, it’s commonly known; Matildas, it’s commonly known, who cares. I don’t understand why it would be a big deal. I don’t think there would be a lot of fanfare around it or commentary around it because I think if there was then that would be the wrong way to go about it. I think the whole world is more understanding.”

Carey said there was a time when rumours circulated that he was gay.

“So I had to put that to bed,’’ he said.

“There’s a lot of players who have been rumoured to be gay who have turned out not to be gay. It’s a non issue.”