Media Street: Inside Kane Cornes fight night at Marvel Stadium as club ban drama hits prime time

He’s banned by both the Kangaroos and the Bulldogs. Now, Kane Cornes will be right in the middle of North’s biggest night of the season. How will it all shake out?

North Melbourne’s centenary celebrations are set to take the air out of the much-anticipated Kane Cornes fight night at Marvel Stadium.

How Channel 7 navigated the prime time Thursday night clash between the two clubs who have banned Cornes was the most eagerly awaited media event of the season.

But it’s business as usual for Cornes although he won’t be seen in either dressing room or taking part in any interviews with the respective coaches, Luke Beveridge and Alistair Clarkson.

It’s understood Cornes was keen to avoid any awkward moments and is happy to play his role as one of the co-hosts of the broadcast without putting himself in the line of fire.

Kane Cornes. Picture: Michael Klein

The Kangaroos 100-year celebrations will take up a majority of Seven’s pre-game coverage which reduces the amount of preview material – and interaction with the clubs – required in the lead-up to the opening bounce.

Cornes was happy to play up the angst leading into the game, appearing in an online ad for Sportsbet where he concedes he may need UFC champion Alex Volkanovski as his personal security guard for Thursday night.

The former Port Adelaide champion was banned by North in the wake of his criticism of young gun Harry Sheezel and captain Jy Simpkin.

The issue came to head after the club rejected a request for Cornes to be a part of a pre-game TV interview with Clarkson ahead of the Round 8 clash with Essendon.

Kangaroos football boss Todd Viney said the drastic action came after what the Roos felt were “personal vindictive” attacks on the club.

Alastair Clarkson. Picture: Getty Images

Luke Beveridge. Picture: Michael Klein

Three weeks later Cornes was involved in an altercation with Beveridge before the Round 11 Geelong-Bulldogs game at GMHBA Stadium.

The pair exchanged words when Beveridge walked past Cornes on the boundary line. The former Port Adelaide champion nodded his head and said ‘Bevo’ with the Dogs coach reacting with something along the lines of, ‘You’ve got the nerve to say that’.

There had been underlying issues between Cornes and Beveridge before he joined Seven this season.

Kane Cornes' confrontation with Luke Beveridge

North and Seven met to smooth out their issues involving Cornes with president Sonja Hood and chief executive Jen Watt catching up with Ch 7 network sport director Chris Jones.

While Viney said North wouldn’t be having anything to do with Cornes on any of his platforms there seems to have been a thawing with full-forward Nick Larkey appearing on SEN on Monday where Cornes and Dwayne Russell were filling in on the Breakfast Show.

Any thoughts there might be too much Cornes this season with his multiple gigs across numerous platforms, hasn’t eventuated and if anything his popularity on SEN is on the rise.

The pairing of Cornes and David King for their ‘Fireball’ show on Monday and Friday mornings has developed a cult following which is reflected in the ratings where it is one of the most downloaded sports podcasts in the country.

What that means moving forward will be interesting with industry experts suggesting rival networks would be looking closely at the “Ballers” brand which has clearly captured the imagination of sports fans.

The show, which is in its fourth year, has evolved after the pair were thrown together as fill-ins with their strong and differing opinions, and sometimes combative nature, a surprise recipe for success. Regulars on the show include Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell.