Kane Cornes phone detail shows brutal reality after Channel 9 exit

Kane Cornes’ phone has been ringing hot since his defection to Channel 9’s biggest rival. The one name missing says it all.

Kane Cornes has a busy pre-season ahead. Photo: Channel 9 and LISTNR.

Kane Cornes has been brutally taken down by Footy Show colleagues as his bombshell defection to Channel 7 continues to send shockwaves across the AFL media landscape.

The footy shock jock’s ugly reality about being public enemy No. 1 at the rival network was brutally exposed in Sunday’s segment where Footy Show panellist Isaac Smith highlighted the number of rifts the former Port Adelaide star will have to try to mend.

Amid reports he was highly sought after by Fox Footy, Cornes made the shock call last week to leave Nine and join Seven in 2025.

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Smith’s cheeky attempt to predict Cornes’ calendar for his first day as a Channel 7 employee next year suggested the 41-year-old will need to “patch things up” with some of the biggest stars at his future home, including Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling, Joel Selwood, Trent Cotchin and Luke Darcy.

"If I employed these people, I'd want my money back." 😂

The boys did NOT hold back on Kane after the news broke he's jumping ship – reminding him about some of his old comments about his new colleagues 🍿🍿#9AFLSFS | Nine & 9Now 🖥️ pic.twitter.com/NfKlHsVxHM

— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) September 1, 2024

A public war of words between Cornes and Darcy has raged since the former Western Bulldogs star told Cornes he was “more mean spirited” than anyone in the history of the industry during an icy radio exchange on Triple M during Gather Round in Adelaide in April.

That exchange came after Cornes attacked Richmond champion Cotchin over a social media clip shared by Channel 7 Sport.

Kane Cornes has a busy pre-season ahead. Photo: Channel 9 and LISTNR.

Both those men will now be working alongside Cornes next year.

Cornes has spoken publicly to deny his move to the rival network will be awkward, saying on Sunday there won’t be any relationships with figures at Channel 7 that will be “tough” for him to fix.

He has even put forward a long list of names of Channel 7 stars that have already reached out to him, including Richardson, James Brayshaw, Brian Taylor and Luke Hodge.

One name that wasn’t mentioned was Darcy.

Cornes said he has not reached out to Darcy since his big announcement and has also not been contacted by the popular footy caller.

It is blatantly obvious a lot of work will need to be done before the start of the 2025 footy season.

"If I employed these people, I'd want my money back." 😂

The boys did NOT hold back on Kane after the news broke he's jumping ship – reminding him about some of his old comments about his new colleagues 🍿🍿#9AFLSFS | Nine & 9Now 🖥️ pic.twitter.com/NfKlHsVxHM

— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) September 1, 2024

“I don’t think there’s any tough ones. I see these people all the time,” Cornes said when asked about the broken relationships he has with some of his future colleagues.

It comes as Cornes shared new details about his rift with Darcy, saying he has “no ill-will” over the live radio ambush earlier this year.

He said it was “courageous” of Darcy to initiate the conversation on live radio.

“I’d much rather him (Darcy) say that on-air because I know that would happen off-air,” Cornes said on LiSTNR’s The Howie Games podcast.

Kane Cornes went hard at Trent Cotchin. Photo: Channel 9.

“You know what it’s like. It’s a stab-you-in-the-back industry. Everyone’s looking for the same job. It’s incredibly competitive.

“But for him to ask that question is courageous and him to defend his position. I was a little upset, well not upset at all… but I didn’t agree with his thoughts that I looked like a sad person at the gym because I literally didn’t see him at the gym.”

He went on to say he would “shake hands and move on” when he next sees Darcy.

In discussing the muddy situation, Cornes also claimed he was indirectly told that former Channel 7 head of sport Lewis Martin said he would never work for the network because of the public swipe at Cotchin.

“It got back to me that Lewis Martin, maybe through people connected to me, that they were really upset by it,” he said.

“Really upset by it. The producers who had put that to air were really upset and that made me feel a little bit guilty. But yes, that feedback did get back to me.

“We just sort of walked in on the Sunday and I’d seen this Trent Cotchin video. I thought it was an average product, to be completely honest. Yes, Trent is new (to the media), I personally wouldn’t have put that on social media after seeing what it was, so I think they let Trent down by doing that. We sometimes take the mickey out of each other.

Kane Cornes and Luke Darcy.

“I thought is there anything we can do with this Cotchin video? I didn’t really rate this video. We put our brains together and we come (to an idea), well why don’t we film you (Kane) in a similar style, let’s find the most boring piece of play for the year and let’s recreate what had happened. I think I said to Matt (our producer), is this out of line? Is this too nasty? And the consensus was ‘nah, it was a bit of fun.’ Would it have been hard for Trent to look at? Possibly. Do I regret doing it? No. I would do it again.”

Despite using Channel 7 as a punching bag in recent years, Cornes is changing his tune.

In a statement released by the network, Cornes said he is pumped to join “the true home of the AFL”.

“I have immense confidence in the network’s leadership and the exciting direction of 7AFL’s cutting-edge broadcast,” he said.

“The chance to work on the biggest games in free-to-air coverage and share my insights across 7NEWS and throughout the week is an incredible opportunity.

“Seven is the true home of the AFL and next season promises to be the most exciting one yet and I’m looking forward to being a part it.”

Originally published as Kane Cornes phone detail shows brutal reality after Channel 9 exit