Feud explodes as David King swipes Kane Cornes over Jason Horne-Francis scandal

David King has flipped the script on media rival Kane Cornes with a stunning accusation the Port Adelaide great “started the rage”.

David King and Kane Cornes square off.

North Melbourne great David King has taken an extraordinary swipe at Kane Cornes in a stunning twist to the Jason Horne-Francis booing scandal.

Despite the game being on home soil, Horne-Francis was booed by the Adelaide Oval crowd every time he touched the ball in his team’s win over the Western Bulldogs on Saturday — three weeks after he copped it from Collingwood fans at the MCG.

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Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley was furious after the game and called out the behaviour of those fans and said people within the game “need to have a look at themselves” for putting any pressure on the 19-year-old.

Speaking to media after the match, Hinkley said he was “really annoyed” by the treatment Horne-Francis receives from crowds.

“Jason Horne-Francis is 19,” he said.

“Some parts really annoy me about the way people treat him. It’s annoying me.

“He’s never going to play four quarters every week. He’s 19 years old. If you’re treating my 19-year-old son the way some people have treated him, I’d be embarrassed by my performance if I was those people.

“I think it’s been really unfair. The kid made a courageous decision to come home. Let the kid play footy. He’s 19.”

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes responded to the situation on Sunday, taking a heated swipe at North Melbourne fans.

“The treatment from some of the North Melbourne supporters towards Horne-Francis has been disgraceful, and continues to be disgraceful. And they’ve got to have a look at themselves as well,” Cornes said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.

“He’s left the footy club now. The North Melbourne fans can let it go and focus on what is there now.

“And all the clips on social media that people keep clipping up to highlight some deficiencies in his game - it was a line in the sand moment, the club’s sick of it.”

Kangaroos great King fired back at Cornes on Sunday night calling out the footy shock jock for previous comments about Horne-Francis’ messy departure from the Kangaroos.

Horne-Francis’ debut season was filled with rocky moments, no moment bigger than when he was dropped ahead of what would have been his first game back in South Australia.

He was also called out by interim coach Leigh Adams and senior players for failing to complete his proper ice baths and recovery.

David King and Kane Cornes square off.

He also shared a heated on-field clash with Todd Goldstein before eventually confirming he had made a request to be traded out of the club before the 2022 Trade Period.

King said Cornes needs to look at himself for pouring fuel on the fire.

“What were the origins of this? You’ve got to cut to the chase. Kane Cornes put this on the radar with the rubbish about ice baths, that he was sacked from North Melbourne for not taking an ice bath,” King said on Fox Footy’s First Crack.

“And that flared the nostrils of the North Melbourne fans, and they’ve been going backwards and forth at each other for six months, and unfortunately Jason Horne-Francis has been the sole victim in all of this.

“It’s built a tension and a passion and a rage that wasn’t really there. I think the North Melbourne fans were happy to part, ‘alright, it doesn’t always work out for every player that gets drafted, he wants to go home, get the big deal’.

“We sat on (AFL) 360 last year and we said you know what if you want to go, go, we can work on getting the next person in the door and we’ll go again. No-one’s bigger than the footy club, you go again. But the rage was started the moment hashtag ice bath was put out there.

Jason Horne-Francis was everywhere in the fourth quarter. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

“So now when he does something, the fanbase goes beauty, we’ve got an angle. Now the Kangaroos fans weren’t there to boo on the weekend, so you can’t necessarily blame those people who I think have been targeted unfairly by those looking to make excuses.

“Jason Horne-Francis is going to be a star of the competition, we all know that. I don’t think it’d be as big a deal if the last six months of to-and-fro hadn’t taken place.”

Asked whether he was referring specifically to the booing that has begun to plague Horne-Francis around the country, Hinkley said it was the overall treatment of the young star by fans and media alike.

“I’m talking about lots of things,” he said.

“I’m talking about people who write stories every week, talk stories every week and I’m talking about the treatment that they give him, at times, tonight.

“Without making a big deal of it, the kid’s trying, he’s giving his best. He’s 19. Stop treating him like he’s 28 and treat the kid with some respect.

“And I tell you what, some people who put pressure on kids in this game need to have a good hard look at themselves.”

Hinkley said that Horne-Francis was taking it all in his stride.

The 19-year-old was tipped as one of the hottest properties in the game and a future Brownlow winner at an early age. Pic: Michael Klein

The former number one overall pick is still only 19, and has been the talk of the footy world since he was picked up by North Melbourne and sensationally requested a trade back to his home state of South Australia.

After Horne-Francis was booed against Collingwood, Port skipper Ollie Wines also criticised the crowd for their actions against a player still finding his way as a player and as a man.

“It happens in this day and age, but it’s really unfortunate that a 19-year-old kid is getting booed,” Wines said.

“He’s a good teammate of ours, he’s a really good kid. We forget he’s 19, and at stages he’s had a lot of media coverage so early in his career.”

Magpies coach Craig McRae made his stance of booing clear at the time.

“I’ve got a little six-year-old ... we don’t boo in our household, we respect the opposition and other athletes,” McRae said.