Kane Cornes Q&A: Jon Anderson asks the big questions of Channel 7’s prized football media signing

Like him or not, everyone has an opinion on Kane Cornes. But what’s he really like? JON ANDERSON goes one-on-one with footy media’s most-wanted man.

Kane Cornes, Channel 7’s prized football signing for 2025, has promised a “significant change” for the network’s audience when he first picks up a microphone as a special commentator.

Cornes, 41, has the playing credentials to back his forthright opinions given he was a Port Adelaide four-time best and fairest winner, premiership on-baller and 300-game player with the Power, even if by his own standards he was “slow and not very talented”.

Jon Anderson: When did you think you may take the media path?

Kane Cornes: Not at all in my early years as a player because I was so focused on being the best I could be. I didn’t really have a second option although I did learn from Dad (Graham) and KG (Ken Cunningham) when they were at their peak on 5AA.

JA: Have you always been forthright?

KC: As a player I wasn’t a good leader because I was too focused on getting the best out of myself. Not selfish, even though some could have seen me that way. In terms of being forthright in the media ... as I established myself as a player the club started to put me up in front of the media, which I quite enjoyed. I can’t see the point in doing the role if you aren’t honest in your opinions.

Kane Cornes won’t be changing his ways in the new role. Picture SARAH REED

JA: Most of us in life don’t seek confrontation but it doesn’t seem to bother you?

KC: It doesn’t because my focus is on what makes compelling content, as distinct from boring. Not contrived content, just speaking your mind. That’s good TV for me and what I want to listen to. I like talkback callers ringing up to have a go at me.

JA: Do people in footy ever have a crack at you face to face?

KC: Oh yeah (laughter). Not weekly, but often enough. I like coaches ringing me to give me further context which is helpful. Maybe twice I’ve had a call from the AFL to say I’d gone too far. Once was regarding Toby Greene when I thought the umpires were being really hard on him.

JA: Have you tempered your approach since the guns-blazing early days?

KC: I might be a bit calmer. I was a bit more ruthless in the early days and maybe didn’t have the balance quite right.

Cornes and Patrick Dangerfield in 2017.

Kane and Chad Cornes celebrate the 2004 grand final win.

JA: I thought you were hard on Patrick Dangerfield back in 2018 when you thought he exaggerated injuries?

KC: I thought he was milking injuries, being quite theatrical, almost like a soccer player. I don’t shy away from it and he doesn’t do it now. But he’s also the most competitive player I’ve seen and his attack on the football is as good as anyone I’ve ever seen. We did have it out at the time but we get on fine these days.

JA: In your football lifetime, who would you pay to watch?

KC: My brother Chad and I were fanatical Crows fans and as such Tony Modra would be number one. He was huge, so magical, good looking, quietly spoken and modest.

JA: What about today’s game?

KC:Two years ago I said Hawthorn was irrelevant. There was no player whose jumper I would buy. Now there are eight or nine. I love watching so many of them.

JA: How tight are you with Port Adelaide these days?

KC: Ken Hinkley is as good a person I’ve met in football. A great coach and family man. He turned the place around and for that I will be forever thankful.

JA: Who wins this year?

KC: I think John Longmire and Sydney will make the grand final. After that I’m not sure because each team has an area of weakness.

JA: Take me back to your boxing debut this year against Nathan Brown?

KC: It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and the most stressed I’ve ever been. You go into a ring where someone wants to knock your head off, plus most people watching on TV and the 4000 in the stadium. But I am proud of myself for doing it and at least surviving.

JA: In your role you give regular critiques of players. Critique Kane Cornes as a player?

KC: I was the second slowest player over 20m at the draft camp and I wasn’t as talented as many others. I actually thought at that 2000 draft camp that my AFL dream was already over. But I found a way. I had a huge motor, I hated being beaten and I was very determined. As a player I lacked talent and there was nothing special about my game but I was well coached and was given roles that suited what I brought to the team.

Cornes faces Nathan Brown in the ring.

And on Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show.

JA: How hard was it to leave Channel 9 for Channel 7?

KC: In the end it was an easy call even if that isn’t the answer most people would expect. I’ve always been ambitious and had a go, and I’ve been toiling away for 10 years at this media game. I’ve done a lot of flying hours and I wanted to work with a network that had the football rights where I could be behind the microphone on the biggest games. But Channel 9 was great to me.

JA: What can we expect from you as a special commentator? Hopefully some opinions because there are a lack of them at present.

KC: My style that you know will remain my style. That’s what Seven wants. I think it will be a significant change for Seven’s audience.

JA: You played a run-with or tagger role. Was there a player who consistently troubled you?

KC: Brent Harvey was my hardest opponent, so determined to run you into the ground, equally as good in the midfield as he was forward, someone who would turn one possession into three. He could have been a Hall of Fame half-back in today’s game. Gary Ablett was probably the best player I played against.

JA: Who do you admire in the media?

KC: I’m a big admirer of what Caroline Wilson has been able to do and the work she has put in and Matty Lloyd has been just a joy to work alongside. He has a really good balance in his comments.

The Cornes family in the US last year. Picture: Instagram

JA: What about your new mates at Channel 7?

KC: I think Luke Hodge has enormous potential. You can see the path that he’s on.

JA: When was footy at its best?

KC: In the late 1990s, when you had the forwards and the scores. Because of the fewer interchanges teams were unable to put as much pressure on ball carriers and that frontal press wasn’t as prevalent, meaning players had more time to make better decisions with the footy.

JA: What would you change today?

KC: I just can’t get my head around the stand rule which I think makes umpiring almost impossible. I’d bring back the third man up to clear the area at stoppages and I’d cap the interchange at 40 to reduce injuries and improve the standard of footy.

JA: How much time do you spend in Melbourne?

KC: Three nights a week which might change a little.

JA: You are only 41 yet have been with your wife, Lucy, for 26 years?

KC: We started dating when I was 15 in Year 10 and have been inseparable since. I’ve been blessed to have met Lucy. We were married when I was 22 and have three boys in Eddy, 18, Raph, 16, and Sonny, 14. Lucy is a very positive person which is good for me because sometimes I can be a bit negative.