Cornes is certainly trying to elevate his standing amongst the radio industry but some of what he says has meaning......whether you like him or not!

In my opinion Lever appears to be an outstanding person but currently overpaid, IMO & thus far under-delivered. May the same.....

Harmes good on him getting a an extra 4 years which ties him to the club for another 5 years, but really 3 would have been appropriate I reckon.

Time will tell if Cornes has over-reacted or a good call.....

 

2 minutes ago, chookrat said:

Demonstone, the joke will continue until at least the JLT cup or AFXL commences. 

Cornes needs to back up his words with actions. Say "I don't think Harmes is worth a five year deal" and then challenge to fight him to prove it. 

It may have been thin before but its now invisible

Bar Gawn, did anyone deserve a 5 year deal? I don’t think so. On the other hand I’m not fazed as I doubt he is on big coin.

Well will see after the 2020 season.

?

Kane Cornes 

Meh.

I can't understand SEN signing up Cornes for even one year.  Gossage, Cornes, its all part of the expansion plan. Not merit

 

22 minutes ago, chookrat said:

Demonstone, the joke will continue until at least the JLT cup or AFXL commences. 

Then I'm afraid you've turned into a bin chicken.  Welcome to the 'ignore' list.

If Cornes doesn't think other clubs would offer Harmes a 4-year deal when his contract ends in 2020 then he doesn't understand how good and how valuable Harmes is.   I have little doubt other clubs came knocking for his signature at trade time.  We have closed the door on them with this contract.

I'm guessing other club interest is a reason he got the 4 year extension.  I'm also guessing he will be on good coin.  Harmes said “It took a little while, but we got there in the end – both parties are happy,”   You don't come 3rd in the Bluey in a Prelim year and back it up with 4th the next and be prepared to accept small change after the so called 'big' name and 'lesser' name imports have been paid.   

I don't usually get fixated about player salaries but if the figures mooted for Langford and Tomlinson are anything to go by then Harmes would be well within his rights to want to be in that range. 

And, just for the record those two received 5 year and 4 year contracts respectively.   If Cornes checked I'm sure he would find these medium term contracts commonplace now and not just for the 'household name' players he mentioned. 

Edited November 1, 20195 yr by Lucifer's Hero

I agree we gave up a lot for Lever and May but let’s not call that a fail just yet. I’m comfortable with giving Harmes a long term contract. He is durable and dependable so why not reward him for a significant contract. 

What he said is pretty valid. May and Lever are huge mistakes at this stage. Surprised he didn't mention the bizzare decision to trade a likely top4 pick plus valuable change for pick 8. 

The footy media are experts at 20-20 hindsight and will happily tell you all the mistakes a club has made and all the things they "should have" done. Funny, those same things they "should have" done are scarcely mentioned back when it was decision time. It seems the media have to wait see how things pan out like all the rest of us.

Which isn't to say the MFC have made great decisions all along the way and the cruel media are beating us up unfairly.

But there's a world of difference between having to make decisions for the future of the club, and critiquing those decisions from a distance. (That's why Garry Lyon never jumped to senior coaching ... he knew it's a lot easier to sit in the passenger seat commenting on the driving, than to drive the vehicle yourself.)

2 hours ago, Demonland said:

“I’m a bit staggered by Melbourne to be honest,” Cornes told SEN’s the Captain’s Run.

This settles it for me then, we definitely made the right decision! ?

EDIT: Adding my two cents

May and Lever were need based trades, Lever in particular was being courted by lots of clubs and at the times was considered one of the best prospects as a long term defender. We got unlucky with him injuring his knee and it's completely stuff his time so far with us. BUT when he's been out there you can see why we got him. He reads the ball extremely well and with a full pre-season under his belt will be massive to our prospects of improving.

May we all know what happened with him, and he should be doing everythng in his power to pay back the club for essentially a lost year because of his poor fitness base when returning to the club. Again though when he got out on the park you could see he's quality. He's got probably another 2-3 years of top quality footy in him which is what the club considers to be our prime window of opportunity. Those two playing together could be the difference for us.

As for Harmes as mentioned above given his age bracken it's likely he was being courted by other clubs with long term offers on the table. If Port had poached him next year on a 4 year deal I bet you he would've been gushing praise. But Cornes himself is all about negative press though, it seems rare for him to praise a decision by any club instead sinking the boots into teams with hindsight statements.

Edited November 1, 20195 yr by Pates

If we'd given a five year deal to, say, Alex Neal-Bullen, then I think his opinion would be justified.

Giving a five year deal to a bloke who has improved every single year since being on the list, who hasn't missed a game in two years, who can play multiple roles across the ground AND has done so in finals, is a good piece of business.

Cornes is entitled to his opinion, but I think the club has done the right thing in this instance.

It's not unreasonable to guess that he wasn't on much coin on his current deal and there's nothing to suggest that his new one is on really high numbers either. What we can say with some certainty however is that should a rival come sniffing in the short term they will now pay a high price to prise him away. It also provides us with a little more clarity on our cap space in the short to medium term. 

Much ado about nothing methinks. 

 

Ben King vs Steven May?  What exactly has King done?  We filled a massive hole (hands up who would want a backline of OMac and Frost going into a final?), and got a leader.  We might only get a few years out of him, but the aim is to win a flag in that time.  Ben king will still be a skinny kid, finding his way.

Cornes can have his opinion.  It will swing like a dunny door if we do well next year.  It is how the industry works.

51 minutes ago, TheoX said:

What he said is pretty valid. May and Lever are huge mistakes at this stage. Surprised he didn't mention the bizzare decision to trade a likely top4 pick plus valuable change for pick 8. 

I am shocked and surprised you agree NOT    is there one thing you actually like about MFC or are you on here as a non supporter just to stir the pot

I don't listen to, read any of the [censored] these days that is supposed to pass for sports journalism

It's headline chasing pure and simple

33 minutes ago, TheoX said:

 

May was relatively reliable at getting out on the park at GC. The problems arose when he returned to the club underdone which forced him to try to play catch up and eventually went to far. He owes us for 2019.

People have differing opinions regarding his on field leadership, some didn't like him getting stuck into Frost. I didn't mind it, we'd had an awful year and players were doing their own thing at times. Someone needed to stand up and say, no more!

Edited November 1, 20195 yr by george_on_the_outer

How many players turned up slightly underdone to their clubs last season?

Off the top of my head: Wingard, W Rioli, Dusty Martin, Motlop, Stringer and I'm sure a stack more. 

How many players have done an ACL and taken time to get back to their best.

How many players of lesser or equal talent as Harmes signed a 4 year contract in this recent trade period? Tomlinson is one. Cam Ellis-Yolmen (3 years, maybe 4)? Josh Bruce. Was Zak Jones 3 or 4 years? 

The reality is with anything like the last couple of seasons Harmes would play himself in to a juicy 4 year extension, we've gone early and likely got A) a discount and B) significant cap flexiblity for doing so.

Cornes seems to have a major chip on his shoulder............I think he's best ignored !

Couldn't hack it as a firefighter where you quickly get found out for being an O2 thief .

Wouldn't have liked being lambasted when his ego got in the way.

Much easier in the media where you can say what you like and have pot shots with impunity.

Agree with Cornes 98%, who like Lloyd, sticks his head out and takes no prisoners.

I am for Harmes 5 year deal though.  Come 2024, this will be viewed as a bargain.  About to become elite, and Bucky will eat his words.

As for head scratching decisions about players brought in at a cost, and some players let go, and the sub-par performance in relation to our soft-tissue management....no wonder we are 17th in the comp.

14 minutes ago, TGR said:

Agree with Cornes 98%, who like Lloyd, sticks his head out and takes no prisoners.

I am for Harmes 5 year deal though.  Come 2024, this will be viewed as a bargain.  About to become elite, and Bucky will eat his words.

As for head scratching decisions about players brought in at a cost, and some players let go, and the sub-par performance in relation to our soft-tissue management....no wonder we are 17th in the comp.

Can't say that surprises me TGR, not meaning any offence. But you're both of the critical viewpoints on things rather than focusing on what it right, though I would say you stick your head out more than he does. He seems to tread in the hindsight category where you actually make statements in advance. I know you were extremely critical of the club's actions on the Lever trade (fwiw I was unhappy that we folded to Adelaide's demands as well).

Which players have left us recently that have come back to bite us? I can't really think of any. We might get a little bit of Frost-bite (?) but I'd say that's the only one I'm concerned with right now.

11 hours ago, TGR said:

Agree with Cornes 98%, who like Lloyd, sticks his head out and takes no prisoners.

I am for Harmes 5 year deal though.  Come 2024, this will be viewed as a bargain.  About to become elite, and Bucky will eat his words.

As for head scratching decisions about players brought in at a cost, and some players let go, and the sub-par performance in relation to our soft-tissue management....no wonder we are 17th in the comp.

So tell us which soft tissue issues we had in 2019?  Then compare that with Collingwood for example. 

Edited November 1, 20195 yr by george_on_the_outer

5 hours ago, JakovichScissorKick said:

Agree with him on the May trade, that was a shocker.

Lever however was a great pickup for a couple of  late 1st rounders.  The ACL was just bad luck.   Injury permitting he will show next season why we got him.

And theres nothing wrong with the Harmes deal, he is a gun and super consistent.

May trade ...shocker??? Interesting to hear why...hmmmm

6 hours ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

I also think that Cornes is underrating Harmes. 

Yes spot on. Harmesy is a key part of our future. Smart work to lock in. Need a few more like CP5 to sign up again.