Inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes says there would have been riots, bomb threats had Port Adelaide been admitted to the AFL in 1990
Former Adelaide Crows coach Graham Cornes says there would have been “riots” and “bomb threats” had Port Adelaide been admitted into the AFL in 1990. STREAM: EPISODE 4.
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Inaugural Adelaide Crows coach Graham Cornes says Port Adelaide’s AFL bid in 1990 was ‘treachery’, but would hold the same view if any other SANFL club had made the same decision.
Cornes, who was Glenelg coach in 1990 and led the Tigers to the grand final against Port Adelaide, said when the news broke 30 years ago it came as a total surprise.
“The news hit like a tsunami. It was just so anti to what the philosophy of the SANFL had been,” Cornes told the DIVIDED podcast series.
“We had been under all sorts of pressure by the VFL to have a South Australian team in the competition.”
In May 1990, the SANFL had voted not to make an AFL bid and were looking at a 1993 entry.
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“The West Coast Eagles (and Brisbane Bears) had gone in 1987… because the first few seasons of the West Coast Eagles had been a financial disaster we in South Australia didn’t want to be placed in that same predicament,” Cornes said.
“We all pledged we couldn’t undermine our South Australian national footy league until the circumstances were right.
“When Port Adelaide came out and announced a unilateral bid, it was an upheaval.”
Cornes said it wasn’t because it was Port Adelaide who made the bid, the reason the SANFL lodged a court injunction was because a club had broken ranks.
“As early as (19)82 they (SANFL) were exploring the options of doing it (joining VFL),” he said.
“There had been feelers and the story is legendary about Norwood being approached (by the VFL) and procrastinating.
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“So bang, they (AFL) went to Port Adelaide and said ‘well if you don’t do it, Norwood will’.
“Had Norwood had decided to go it alone there would have been the same (response), but we all hated Port Adelaide, it was always there so that added an extra layer of enmity to it.
“(It was) treachery, they (Port Adelaide) made a commitment that they wouldn’t do it and when no one was looking, bang, they just grabbed all the lollies and tried to run away with them.
“But they got caught with their hand in the jar.”
Cornes added the court injunction which ultimately stopped Port Adelaide’s bid in its tracks was arranged quite quickly.
“There was a frantic organisation of the SANFL and the local clubs to try and prevent it,’ he said.
“Lots of lobbying in Victoria, lobbying to the AFL, lobbying to the (AFL) clubs to say ‘this is ridiculous’.
“It would have been a disaster if Port Adelaide had gone in.
“There would have been riots, there would have been bomb threats there would have been all sorts of obstruction to them going in.”
THAT 1990 GRAND FINAL SPEECH
After the Tigers lost the 1990 SANFL grand final to Port Adelaide, Cornes made an infamous speech in the premiers’ change rooms.
“It was a spontaneous thing. It was an expression of all the built up anger and frustration, and the fact you lost,” he said.
But Cornes admitted his speech would have been different if the Tigers had won the flag that day.
“I was full of respect for John Cahill and his boys, they had a good team,” Cornes said.
“It was a get credit to Jack and the players.”
Cornes has no regrets about the speech and wouldn’t change a word he said.
“There was no way known those boofheads could get away with what they had done to South Australian footy. I would do it again,” he said.
“Someone had to tell them. They were strutting around, and to make things worse they had just won another premiership.
“I don’t regret it at all giving it to them.”
Cornes doesn’t believe former AFL CEO Ross Oakley’s view that Port Adelaide’s bid made the Adelaide Crows.
“They (Port Adelaide) didn’t create them but they certainly hastened their entry,” he said.
“We would have had a team at some stage, it was inevitable.”
BAYS WOULDN’T HAVE DONE IT
Cornes says Glenelg could have made its own bid for the AFL to join the competition in 1991.
But the club had made their commitment to the SANFL, and that’s why Glenelg launched the legal action seeking an injunction against Port Adelaide.
“We (Glenelg) probably could have, but we had lost so many players every year,” Cornes said.
“Had we had our team from (19)85, we would have been a real chance.”
“I don’t think Glenelg did it on their own merit, they would have had the full support of the SANFL,” Cornes said.
“(SANFL) just needed someone to launch the vehicle basically and we (Glenelg) were happy to do it.
“Because it was so infuriating, those arrogant Port Adelaide heads strutting around the place and puffing their chests out as this was going to be a game changer.”
Once the court battle had begun, Cornes thought it was inevitable a team from SA would be in the AFL in 1991.
“If we are going to stop Port Adelaide, we have to put a combined team in,” he said.
“And that caused us all to rethink.”
Originally published as Inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes says there would have been riots, bomb threats had Port Adelaide been admitted to the AFL in 1990