Kane Cornes unloads once again over the AFL’s protected zone rule

Former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes has once again taken aim at the AFL over a contentious penalty that could cost a team dearly.

Contentious 50m penalty paid against Sydney

There has been some shocking 50 metre penalties paid this year, but a new contender emerged on Saturday night and it’s going to be tough to beat.

The contentious 10 metre protected zone reared its ugly head during Sydney’s battle against St Kilda at the SCG during the second quarter.

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As the Saints worked their way forward, Tim Membrey marked uncontested just inside the boundary line in between the wing and half forward.

Membrey went back behind the mark, took a few little steps off the line of the mark as he looked goalwards for the next option.

But as he stood with the ball in hand, Sydney’s Errol Gulden strolled past to get numbers in the defensive end.

The umpire blew his whistle and paid 50 against Gulden for being too close to Membrey. The commentary team and footy fans watching on couldn’t believe it.

Membrey took full advantage of the penalty and slotted the goal to bring the margin back to 14 points.

The Cornes family didn’t hold back as they blasted the absurd moment that left the commentary box in stunned silence as they tried figuring out where the penalty had come from.

“That is not a great decision, we all make mistakes and that will ultimately be seen as a mistake,” Nathan Buckley said on Fox Footy.

“Is Brad Scott on Twitter? Wow,” Kane Cornes wrote.

#AFLSwansSaints This is 50 metres and a goal? Madness pic.twitter.com/RHKAmsTCGU

— Graham Cornes (@Cornesy12) June 25, 2022

Kane Cornes has long been against the protected zone rule and unloaded on the AFL regarding the harsh penalty once again on the Sunday Footy Show last weekend.

As Cornes’ segment ‘Vol-Kane-O’ got underway, the former Port Adelaide star threw to a clip of himself from back in April where he criticised the rule makers of the league.

Footage then rolled from an incident that unfolded during the St Kilda vs Essendon game where the Bombers’ Matt Guelfi was stung for being inside the protected zone after losing contact with his opponent.

“He’s trying to stop his opponent from getting the handball receive, he gets caught on the wrong side and he tries to get out of the area,” Cornes says.

“I just want to know, what’s a player supposed to do?

“If your opponent is in the area you should be allowed to be in the area as well, it’s a simple fix and the umpire says get out.”

The topic was then thrown to Damian Barrett who argued with Cornes in April regarding the rule, but Barrett was on his side regarding the Guelfi decision and said the AFL needs to be smarter.

Cornes argued the harsh nature of the rule could end up costing a team a win or worse yet, a finals spot.

“The punishment is a goal, that could be a win that could be the difference between St Kilda making the eight or missing. It could be the difference between a team playing in the Grand Final or missing it – or winning a premiership god forbid,” he said.

“We just can’t say that’s one mistake.”

"That could be the difference between a team playing in the grand final or missing – or winning a premiership, god forbid."@kanecornes says there must be a change made to the protected zone rule after another controversial 50-metre penalty.#9AFLSFS | @Channel9pic.twitter.com/nEv0eBuRvJ

— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) June 19, 2022