‘He says it to get clicks’: Hardwick claps back at AFL analyst’s call as war of words erupts

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has slammed one of the AFL’s most controversial figures after his players proved a very important point.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick speaks at the post game press conference after Richmond's win over the West Coast Eagles

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has taken a swipe at his premiership teammate Kane Cornes in his post-match press conference following the Tigers’ 46 point win over the Eagles at the MCG.

The war of words centred on Richmond recruit Tim Taranto who Cornes claimed “wouldn’t be in the top 150 players in the game right now”.

He also suggested Taranto “didn’t influence games” during a discussion on SEN Breakfast this week.

Earlier in the season Cornes questioned Richmond’s decision to recruit Taranto along with his ex-Giants teammate Jacob Hopper, calling the decision to hand both recruits seven year deals “a horrific deal”.

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Richmond coach Damien Hardwick speaks at the post game press conference after Richmond's win over the West Coast Eagles.

Taranto produced his best performance in his new colours on Saturday, recording a prolific 30 disposals, five tackles and kicked two goals, leading the way for the Tigers through midfield as they overpowered the undermanned West Coast outfit.

Hardwick took the opportunity at his post-match press conference to hit back at his former Power teammate.

“I know Kane really well and you guys know how the media work,” Hardwick said.

“He doesn’t generally believe that comment, but what he does is he says it to get clicks. That’s how the media works. Surprise.

“He (Taranto) is an outstanding player. Those two boys that we brought in (Jacob) Hopper and Taranto, we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we need to be – or more importantly we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we want to be – without those two boys. They’ve been wonderful for our footy club.

“They’re starting to learn what it is to be a Richmond person and starting to play like Richmond men, which is really important. So I thought those two boys were very, very good today and will continue to be for a long period of time.”

Tim Taranto (R) of the Tigers is congratulated by Shai Bolton after kicking a goal. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Hardwick doubled down on Cornes minutes later when he was asked about fellow midfielder Dion Prestia’s game and his importance to the club.

“Kane said he wasn’t worth Pick six” Hardwick said.

“He’s come out a three – time premiership player.

“Get better wig, come on”

Cornes responded to Hardwick’s comments the following morning on AFL Media’s The Round So Far, revealing he had spoken to the Tigers mentor earlier that day.

“I was a little bit surprised that he went public with that,” Cornes started.

“I just explained that I didn’t say that comment for the heck of it. If you looked at it in isolation and you read the headlines, it does look a bit confronting, but it was part of an extended chat on radio on Friday morning.

“It’s interesting that prior to that game, Champion Data had Taranto ranked 120 in the competition, so I’m not sure Damien Hardwick is challenging Champion Data’s numbers and saying they are for clicks.

“I think they paid an extraordinary price to get him, but top 50 in the competition is still pretty good. It’s top 15-10 per cent, which I tried to explain to Damien Hardwick today.

“What he does very well is support his players, and the loyalty he’s got to his players I admire.”

Kane Cornes has hit back. Picture SARAH REED

Prestia was key in the Tigers getting their game going in a third-quarter surge with the midfielder kicking three goals in a five-minute patch. Hardwick was full of praise for Prestia, calling the three-time premiership player and best and fairest winner a “pretty special player”. and praising his toughness.

“He played really hurt at the start of the year and put his hand up to play because we really didn’t have a lot of magnets to promote opportunities” Hardwick said.

“For him to come back, re-asses… I thought he was pretty important today.

“The ability for him to hit the scoreboard when it mattered…. That broke the game open from there.“He’s a really important player to us as we know but it‘s good to see his season start to get up and going…”

Prestia is set to play his 200th AFL game next Friday night against Geelong.

Originally published as ‘He says it to get clicks’: Hardwick claps back at AFL analyst’s call as war of words erupts