Footy great Paul Roos has opened up on why he thinks North Melbourne opted to ban Kane Cornes from the rooms during their three-point defeat by Essendon on Thursday night, stating the measure was taken to prevent a ‘physical altercation’.
The former Port Adelaide star was still in the commentary box for the match as the Bombers sealed victory at the Marvel Stadium, despite being a man down after Harrison Jones suffered a horror leg injury in the third quarter.
Cornes has been blasted by the footy club in recent days for his scathing appraisal of 20-year-old footy star Harry Sheezel, which Todd Viney, the Kangaroos’ director of football, said was a ‘personal and vindictive attack’ while also branding it ‘bullying’.
The Channel 7 broadcaster has subsequently lashed back at those comments, stating that they were ‘dangerous’, while also revealing he had been banned by the Western Bulldogs too.
Speaking to Channel 7, he added on Thursday: ‘I would have loved the opportunity to go in there and I think it is unfortunate the North fans don’t get to hear the responses to those questions.
‘I think they (North) have been poorly advised on this.’
Controversial AFL commentator Kane Cornes has broken his silence on being banned by North Melbourne
It came after he took aim at North Melbourne star Harry Sheezel (pictured with partner Mischa Rajch) claiming the youngster had been stat-padding
Roos, though, believes that the decision was taken by North in order to protect Cornes.
The former Sydney and Melbourne boss issued a warning to Cornes about ‘p***ed off players’ in the North camp and that the footy great risked tempers flaring if he walked into the rooms following the match.
‘This is probably the message a bit to the media – don’t dismiss this, because if we want to have relationships with footy clubs and bring out personalities and interview and great stuff, we can’t dismiss what Todd is saying,’ Roos said on his ABC Sport podcast.
‘His (Viney’s) players are p***ed off. They’re really p***ed off. So there’s a danger that if Kane walks in those rooms, that something physical may happen. That’s the way I’m reading it.
‘This is not just about the North Melbourne footy club. This is potentially protecting Kane Cornes.
‘Kane’s clearly studied the overseas media landscape, so Kane has chosen to become a media personality, like Stephen A. Smith and guys like that. So that’s his choice. That has repercussions. Whether you agree with it or not, it’s irrelevant because he’s chosen to take that path.’
North Melbourne boss Alastair Clarkson has now also spoken out on the matter.
In a pre-recorded interview with Luke Hodge on Thursday, Clarkson said: ‘Those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.’
Cornes (pictured) claimed that Sheezel’s lack of score involvements this season compared to the amount of disposals he was amassing was not good enough, branding his style of play ‘Sheezey Ball’
Sheezel told SEN that Cornes may have ‘overstepped the mark’ but added he ‘agreed that he needed to be more effective with the football
‘I know a little bit about Kane’s history,’ Clarkson said to Channel 7.
‘This isn’t shared across the football world but I have a view that there needs to be a good balance, particularly when you talk about the players.
‘They’re the product of the game, they’re the guys on the field and in the trenches with their mates trying to fight for their side, and when the line gets crossed…
‘We know there’s critique in the game, I’ve been copping it for 20 years, especially as the coach. When these type of things happen you have to really cop it on the chin but I think it’s an indication of our stability as a club.
‘This is a club decision from the board right through to the football department with Todd (Viney) heading it up that we need to look at our people. We thought it was untoward.’
Hodge then asked: ‘As far as making him react, is this the outcome to make him go a bit easier or do you reckon this is going to give more ammunition to go back at your players and the club?’
Clarkson replied: ‘Well that’ll be up to Kane to work out how he goes about it.’
The incident flared over Cornes’ scathing review of Sheezel’s lack of impact for the Roos during their nine-point defeat by the Power on Saturday.
Cornes’ remarks about Sheezel have been branded ‘vindictive’ and ‘bullying’ by the Kangaroos, with his fellow commentators, including Luke Hodge (pictured right with Cornes) also saying he crossed a line
He had noted that the 20-year-old No 3 draft pick had a fair amount of touches on the footy but did not effectively use the ball, noting he was forced to bomb it into the air on multiple occasions, despite being heavily pressured by opposition players.
He went as far as dubbing the youngster’s style of play as ‘Sheezey Ball’, but copped flack from Dale Thomas, who branded his comments as ‘ridiculous’ on The Agenda Setters on Tuesday.
Addressing the matter on his Instagram, Cornes said: ‘This morning I got a phone call from Dan, my producer on Thursday night footy at Channel 7.’
‘We had organised an interview with Luke Hodge and myself with Clarkson in the North Melbourne rooms prior to tomorrow night’s game. I just found out that’s not gonna be happening. What are my thoughts?
‘Banned from the North Melbourne rooms because, essentially, I had some comments about one of their gun players, Harry Sheezel, who I’ve said a number of times that I really rate.
‘But they’re just not using him in the right way, and I feel like he’s stat-padding and getting his possessions in non-damaging areas and that North Melbourne have to really challenge him to win his footy in better spots and be more impactful.
‘So it is strange that Clarko, with all his experience, wasn’t able to answer some of those questions as well as all of the struggles at North Melbourne and the areas that I’ve been strong on with their lack of defensive action as well.
‘But no, banned from the North Melbourne rooms. So tune in tomorrow night to see how we cover that game, Essendon and North, and let’s see if North Melbourne can chalk up their second win of the year. Looking forward to it.’
Roos footy boss Todd Viney (right) blasted Cornes for the comments claiming they were ‘personal and vindictive’
Sheezel added that he just wanted to put the matter behind him, stating that there’s no ‘bad blood’ between him and Cornes
Cornes was brutally scrutinised by the Kangaroos’ general manager of football, Todd Viney on Wednesday, who said he wasn’t ‘holding my breath for an apology’ from Cornes.
Viney added that the broadcaster wouldn’t be invited to the club until there was a more ‘respectful’ dialogue around those involved in the North Melbourne team.
‘On the back of some commentary that we feel over my short time here, there’s been some real personal attacks on the club, vindictive attacks that we feel have been unwarranted,’ Kangaroos general manager of football Todd Viney said on Wednesday.
‘We believe some of the commentary from Kane, particularly early this week with a couple of our players, Jy Simpkin and Harry Sheezel, overstepped the line – [it] was inappropriate, targeted, vindictive bullying behaviour that we as a club won’t stand for.
‘We’re open to balanced critique of our performances but when it starts to overstep the line and become personal it’s my responsibility and the club’s responsibility to look after our people.
‘Until we feel like there’s a more respectful conversation and dialogue from Kane around our people and club we won’t be engaging with him on any of his media channels.’
North Melbourne have endured a disappointing start to the 2025 campaign, having gone 1-6 so far this year.
Sheezel, who joined the club in the 2022 national draft is in his third year at the footy club, having played a total of 51 AFL matches at the start of what is shaping up to be a promising pro footy career.
He is averaging an impressive 29.7 disposals per game and is one of North’s top performers through the midfield.
Interestingly, he agreed with Cornes’ point in some respects but implied that the Channel 7 pundit may have gone a little too far.
‘To be honest, Kane is entitled to his opinion at the end of the day, it’s his role in the media. I can’t control that. Maybe it overstepped the boundary a bit,’ the 20-year-old told SEN Radio this week.
‘The club has supported me really well. End of the day I’m an AFL footballer and I’ve signed up for the scrutiny that comes with it.
Due to his remarks about Sheezel (pictured playing last weekend), Cornes is now banned from any media opportunities with the club
‘I wish it hadn’t blown up into what it has but that’s the nature of it, I just hope I can get back to my football.
‘(Cornes went) maybe a little too far with some of the terms he used. Looking at what he was saying, I do agree I could have more impact on games — but I’m playing the role my coaches have assigned to me.
‘On the stat-padding side, I don’t believe in that. I’m never going to be perfect at it, I do understand what he’s saying that I could be more damaging with the ball.’
While still in the fledgling years of his footy career, Sheezel is still learning to deal with the scrutiny players receive from media and fans, adding that sometimes the comments ‘do hit you’ but wanted to move on from the scrutiny.
‘The media have every right to their opinion but at the end of the day we’re all human beings,’ he added.
‘I hope now to just put it behind me. Let’s focus on the win, that will help me move on.
‘I’ve got no bad blood with Kane, he’s entitled to his opinion — it’s his role. I have nothing against him. I’m going to focus on what I can control and move on.
‘The attention has gone overboard. I want to sweep it under the rug.’
