Time On: David King labels Dom Cassisi’s Kane Cornes criticism ‘possibly the most un-Australian thing I’ve ever seen’
David King says he’s stunned how Dom Cassisi has gone from Kane Cornes’ bridal party to his critic, after the former Port Adelaide captain turned on his old teammate this week.
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‘Has there been a more un-Australian event?’
David King has labelled the criticism directed at Kane Cornes by his close mate Dom Cassisi as “un-Australian”.
Cornes admitted it was uncomfortable hearing his former Port Adelaide teammate, who was also a member of his bridal party, unload on him.
“You two are tight aren’t you,’’ King said to Cornes on their SEN breakfast show Fireball Friday.
“He was in your wedding party, you don’t get much tighter. This is possibly the most un-Australian thing I’ve ever seen. To take a pot shot at a mate who you’ve been in their bridal party — through the whole process, through the whole footy journey — and then he’s just turned on you. Has there been a more un-Australian event happen?”
King even uncovered a happy wedding snap, but Cornes didn’t bite back.
“It’s ok I can cop it,’’ he said.
“It was just a little bit uncomfortable. Clearly love Dom and everything that has been.”
Speaking on Channel 7, Cornes’ own station, former Port Adelaide captain Cassisi said Cornes’ criticism of North Melbourne midfielders Harry Sheezel and Jy Simpkin was a bit rich given he couldn’t cop feedback himself.
“I thought Kane’s comments probably did get a little bit too personal for a young player and probably has a few times,” Cassisi said on 7NEWS Adelaide’s Two-Team Town.
“But knowing Kane better than (most) — we got drafted the same year, was with him every day — and us guys that played with him understand that Kane, if someone said something about Kane’s game, he took it worse than anyone.
“He literally would struggle to come to the club, he wouldn’t talk to anyone, he’d be flat.
“So, we sort of look at it and go, ‘What you’re doing to this kid, you couldn’t really take yourself when someone criticised you’.
“The interesting piece for us that are close to him, we sort of laugh it off a bit. Because it’s like, ‘Well mate, you struggled with that, and you’re doing it that to this kid, which doesn’t really stack up’.”
Cornes responded on Tuesday that it had become a pile on.
“Now, I wasn’t perfect, I had serious flaws as I said, at times a poor teammate and at times selfish — but I wanted to be the best that I could, and probably got an extra 200 games out of myself for doing that,” Cornes said on The Agenda Setters.
“I’m not exactly sure everyone I played with did that, and Dom can speak to that.
“But I just find it strange that everyone is piling in, and they’ve got their right to do that.”
He added: “Dom can say what he likes and have that platform to do that.
“I think some of what he said was a stretch, but that’s his story, not mine.
“What I will say though, is that everything he has said or had a crack at me about, I’ve put on the public record. You can go read my book, you can listen to The Howie Games podcast, you can hear me here — or on whatever other platform.
“I had my flaws as a player, and I'm more than happy to put my hand up and say that.
“I was coached extremely well and supported so well by those coaches, who drove me to get that stuff out of my game.
“I guess it was a little bit uncomfortable, considering that he (Cassisi) came to my brother-in-law’s funeral and was in my wedding.”
Bailey Smith’s olive branch to Ballarat
Bailey Smith wants Ballarat to know there’s no hard feelings after his post match dig on Saturday night.
The Geelong star was asked how good it was to play in front of 82,000 at the MCG against Collingwood and the former Western Bulldog was quick with a quip: “It’s beautiful … I’m not getting that at Ballarat.”
Smith took to social media to share that he has organised free packs of his Barry’s drink from Friday 1pm until they’re sold out at Thirsty Camel Delacombe.
“Since I took the piss it’s only fair to give some back,” Smith posted.
He added: “Hey Ballarat, no hard feelings right?”
Smith’s jab didn’t go down too well with the Bulldogs but he’s keen to make amends with the town.
“Just sent 90 slabs down to Ballarat soooo … Ballarat folk grab a free 4 pack on me till stocks gone,” he said.
Hird urges Dees president to stay off social media
James Hird and Eddie McGuire have urged Melbourne Football Club president Brad Green to “put the phone away” after he hit out at the media over troubled midfielder Clayton Oliver.
Hird and McGuire were discussing Green’s post on X in which he slammed a clip showing a Channel 9 journalist approaching the Demons star.
“You’re the president, you’re not a supporter, you’re not a player, you’re a president,’’ Hird said on Footy Classified.
“Act like the president. Stay off social media.”
Former Collingwood president McGuire said Green needed to be careful.
“Once you go to training, it’s a legitimate question. It wasn’t like he doorstopped him. To me, that one is a good learning experience. Brad, put the phone away, bud. Everyone else, calm down.”
Green was furious when he posted: “The treatment and talk around Clayton is an absolute disgrace.
“The “football Journalist’s” have no integrity. Grow up and leave the kid alone. They wonder why they have personal struggles and have to have a week off.”
“This isn’t a personal attack on the journo in question. Clayton came forward to say he was struggling and needed support. As such we asked that his privacy be respected and yet we’ve had 4 days of media focus on him.”
The treatment and talk around Clayton is an absolute disgrace. The “football Journalist’s†have no integrity. Grow up and leave the kid alone. They wonder why they have personal struggles and have to have a week off. pic.twitter.com/EeZ98kJLBg
— Brad Green (@bradgreen18) May 6, 2025
Oliver took personal leave in round eight with the TV reporter asking if he’ll play this week.
It’s also been revealed that Oliver, who was seeking a trade last year, is keen for a fresh start.
Club great Garry Lyon said on SEN that he’d received a text refuting a story from Sam McClure.
“The noise around Oliver that he missed due to lack of game time is complete and utter crap,’’ Lyon said.
‘Lily-livered’ AFL slammed over Rioli call
Tim Watson and Garry Lyon have slammed the non punishment of Willie Rioli who sent a threatening message to a Bulldogs teammate of Bailey Dale.
The SEN breakfast hosts were livid that the AFL had decided not to take action.
“OK, Willie Rioli reaches out to Bailey Dale and apologises, that’s fine,’’ Watson said.
“Everybody apologises once they’ve been caught out, that’s just standard behaviour of human beings, you just apologise.
“That doesn’t mean to say that it can just be swept under the carpet and there not be any form of penalty or discipline applied by the AFL.
“I am staggered that they have just allowed what they did allow yesterday to be the course of action that was taken on their behalf.
“If you say the wrong thing out there on the football field and the AFL becomes aware of it or the umpire reports it, or whatever, you are then responsible even in the heat of the moment.”
Dale and Rioli were involved in a scuffle at Mars Stadium in Ballarat on Saturday.
Rioli allegedly followed that up by sending a hostile message to one of Dale’s teammates, warning that Dale should be careful leaving his hotel room in Darwin, where the Dogs will play Gold Coast on Saturday night.
Both clubs issued statements in the wake of the investigation, with Lyon calling the AFL’s “lily-livered”.
“The general public are saying, why didn’t the AFL extend the lily-livered explanation about reminding both clubs to ensure any communication remain respectful? Why hasn’t that been applied in the past?” he said.
“Why is this when someone is threatening violence to an opposition player they get a pretty light, soft reminder to ensure communication remains respectful? Why hasn’t that been afforded to other players in the past?”
Watson pointed out there had been fines for obscene on-field gestures and other indiscretions.
“There needs to be a lot more explanation around why they arrived at a statement like that and there was no other course of action taken against Willie Rioli,” Watson said.
“If you flip the bird, you’re getting a fine of $1000 or $1500. There’s no penalty that’s been applied to Willie Rioli. None. Zero.
“What people want — and it’s not too much to ask — is consistency. We just want consistency of messaging from the AFL on all matters.”
‘I got it a bit wrong’: King backtracks
David King conceded he may have gone too far with his criticism of the umpires on Saturday night — but he was still baffled by their inconsistency.
King was critical of some decisions that went against Collingwood and he was taken to task by some on X, including former umpire Matthew Head and his old nemesis, racing tipster David Gately.
“I had a bit of a rough weekend,’’ King said on SEN breakfast Monday morning.
“Saturday night I probably went a bit strong on the umps and probably got it a bit wrong in terms of the wording and I’ve paid my price for that.
“I got whacked from Collingwood fans saying this has been happening all year … I tipped Geelong, I thought Geelong would win. So then the Geelong fans came at me saying you’ve always been salty on us and then I’ve got former umpires coming at me. Not a good space to be in on Saturday night.”
But King did question how the same tackle was paid two different ways — Bobby Hill penalised while James Sicily was rewarded on Sunday.
“The James Sicily tackle was exactly the same and paid in a different way,’’ King said.
“Then when he got up and pushed the guy to the ground and not paid the same way as the Daicos push to the ground … you want to give me the letter of the law, how about we have two days in a row where the umpiring is the same.”
Manager still ‘really proud’ of Ugle-Hagan
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s manager has given an update on the troubled forward, saying he’s heading in the “right direction”.
Paul Connors says the former No.1 draft pick is progressing well, despite taking leave from the Western Bulldogs and using social media to hit back at one of his critics, Nick Riewoldt.
“I think there’s been so much commentary about Jamarra and his situation,” Connors told SEN’s Point of View.
“I think unless you’re in the inner sanctum again, you wouldn’t be privy to everything that we’re privy to.
“I’d like to say we’re really proud of where Jamarra is heading at the moment. As a company, we’ve really supported Jamarra and so have many people.
“I believe he is heading in the right direction and hopefully he’ll be back on track, not (in) the very near future but soon.”
Ugle-Hagan changed his profile picture to a picture of Riewoldt during his 2010 nude photo scandal.
“I think social media is hard, isn’t it? I think that’s just exacerbating the mental health challenges that individuals have,” Connors continued.
“It’s not just immune to AFL players, it’s young kids and adolescents across the world. Taking Jamarra out of it, whether it’s Bailey Smith or Patrick Dangerfield, they’ve got to have their own brand. So, you wouldn’t want to just run it for someone.
“There’s a number of AFL players that we’ve managed over many years that we’d say, hey, that’s probably not the right Instagram story or that’s not the right brand that you’re trying to promote.”
Shoutout to Wallsy
Gerard Healy gave a shoutout to Robert Walls during the call of the Q-clash on Sunday.
Last year footy legend Walls opened up about his shock diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare and aggressive blood cancer, which affects about 200 people in Australia each year.
It’s believed he’s still in the fight of his life.
“There they are resplendent in those Bears jumpers,’’ Healy said on Fox Footy.
“And a quick shoutout to a former Bears coach in Robert Walls who’s been a little bit off colour for a period of time, but he took them into the finals in 95. Hopefully you’re tuning in Wallsy.”
Healy and Walls are long-time friends and former colleagues.
Kane warned about throwing stones
There was less talk about “Kane-gate” as the weekend went on but former Geelong star Steve Johnson wanted to give Kane Cornes some free advice.
After he was banned by North Melbourne last week for his criticism of Harry Sheezel and his view that he gathers easy possessions, Johnson said Cornes should be careful.
“Kano it gets easier to play the game once you get up into the media box and if you’re looking out from the second tier of the stand,’’ Johnson said on Triple M’s Sunday Rub.
“You just can’t forget … you can’t throw stones when your background is not necessarily clean.
“I reckon Kano back in the day was the absolute best stat padder late in games just to thicken up his numbers late in the game. I used to think it a little bit, he used to play on his man and he judged himself based on what his opponent (got), and he was a tagger and a very good tagger at that. He’d keep his opponent to 15, 20 possessions if he’s playing on a Gary Ablett Jr, but then he always liked to have more numbers than his opponent. So late in the game you’d see Kano just get down into the back pocket and pick up those little uncontested marks and take those kick ins.
“The 2007 grand final. Kano picked up 37 that day as a midfielder … guess how many inside 50s. Just the solitary, just the one.”
Brownless blows off footy for Trumpet
Billy Brownless was so bored watching the St Kilda versus Fremantle match on Friday night that he started to take an interest in politics.
“Guess what I did last night, I actually read the Trumpet texts,’’ Brownless said on Triple M’s Saturday Rub.
“That’s how bad the game was, I actually read them, the whole lot of them. It was either Freo or the Trumpet texts and I went with the Trumpet texts.”
Brownless’ colleague James Brayshaw went as far as calling it the worst game he’s seen.
“The first game (Thursday night) was pox enough but (Friday) night made that look like the 89 grand final. Last night’s the worst game of football I think I’ve ever seen,’’ Brayshaw said.
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‘Toilet Duck’ Carey pleads that nobody follows him to loos
AFL great Wayne Carey has told of how his alleged Toorak Cellars toilet tryst has given him the new nickname of “Toilet Duck”, as radio host Ben Fordham put up a crazy theory on the incident.